Chandor Gardens Foundation News

Chandor Gardens Foundation is excited to present VOICES of Fort Worth’s "Where It All Began!" a cappella choral concert on April 11, 2026, at All Saints’ Church, 121 South Waco Street, Weatherford, TX at 3:00 PM. Doors will open for seating at 2:45 PM.

Ticket holders are invited to enjoy a pre-concert reception with "English Tea" style refreshments in Barlow Hall, located beside the church, starting at 2:00 PM.

VOICES of Fort Worth is a premier a cappella choral ensemble with 21 vocalists known for their exceptional vocal harmonies and moving performances. Under the direction of Dr. Jerome M. Bierschenk, the group has captivated audiences for 14 years with their rich sound and artistic expression.

The concert program will feature Dr. Bierschenk's favorite songs from VOICES of Fort Worth's repertoire. In honor of America's 250th Birthday, the group will perform the iconic patriotic song "America the Beautiful."

Chandor Gardens Foundation extends its gratitude to All Saints’ Church for allowing us to host this special concert in their historic church, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2026.

The connection between All Saints’ Church and Chandor Gardens is significant, as Douglas & Ina Chandor were members of the church, with their wedding and funeral services held there.

Tickets- $25 + fees

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Dr. Jerome M. Bierschenk - Founder/Artistic Director

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Dr. Jerome M. Bierschenk has been a music educator in Texas for over 45 years.

After earning a Bachelor's degree in music education, Dr. Bierschenk started a teaching career in instrumental music education and was a band director for 20 years. He taught in the Austin, Birdville, and Weatherford school districts, and in Weatherford where he was the Director of Bands as well as the Coordinator of Music for the district.

Bierschenk’s interest began to include voice and choral conducting, and after earning a Master's of music education and a Doctorate of musical arts in choral conducting from the University of North Texas, he began his tenure as Artistic Director of the Texas Boys Choir and as the Director of Fine Arts for the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts.

With both extensive experience as a tenor soloist and as a trumpet player, he has performed solo tenor roles with Schola Cantorum of Fort Worth, the University of North Texas Choirs, as well as various other groups in the Fort Worth community.

In 2021, he retired after serving as the chair of the Department of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Texas Wesleyan University.

SPONSORS:

It is with much appreciation that we wish to extend a heartfelt "Thank-you" to our sponsors for this event: 

Performance:

Reception:

IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE (March 2, 2026): It is with much regret that we have to announce that the Thursday, March 5, 2026 “Sharing the Joy of Live Classical Music at Chandor Gardens” concert featuring musicians; Katherine Calcamuggio Donner (mezzo-soprano) and Gabriel Evens (piano), has been cancelled due to performer illness.

We have been advised that the principal performer, Katherine Calcamuggio Donner (mezzo-soprano), is suffering from laryngitis and as such is unable to perform the scheduled March 5 concert.

A full refund is being issued to all those who purchased tickets to this event. We are told that the processing time for refunds can be up to 5 days. 

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience/disappointment that this event cancellation causes, and we thank all those who had purchased tickets to this event for your support. We look forward to seeing you at future Chandor Gardens Foundation events.

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Come and be inspired by this live classical concert!

Chandor Gardens Foundation is pleased to be partnering with the Piatigorsky Foundation of New York to bring a PF Classical Community Concert to the Great Room at Chandor Gardens on Thursday, March 5, 2026 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM).

This one-hour, intimate and enchanting concert, features the following two world-class musicians; Katherine Calcamuggio Donner (mezzo-soprano) and Gabriel Evens (piano). During their performances, the artists will share anecdotes and insights into the works that they play allowing the audience to gain an unparalleled understanding of the classical music pieces and composers. Sharing the joy of live classical music!

The Piatigorsky Foundation’s mission is to share live classical music with communities throughout the United States. Founder Gregor Piatigorsky, the renowned cellist, believed that music is not a luxury for an elite few, but a necessity of life for all. PF Classical Community Concerts bring together world-class musicians and eager audiences to celebrate the joy of music. Goals of the Piatigorsky Foundation are:

• Make live classical music an integral part of communities
• Offer meaningful performance opportunities for established and emerging artists
• Create a broader base for classical music by developing new audiences
• Enrich community life by bringing extraordinary musical talent to underserved areas

Following the concert, please stay to meet the artists.

NOTE: To honor the mission of the Piatigorsky Foundation, of making concerts more accessible to all within the local community (especially families) the concert will not have a pre-concert wine reception, and tickets have been priced to be budget friendly.  

Tickets - $20 (+ $3.18 fees)

Performer Bios:

Katherine Calcamuggio Donner - an award-winning mezzo-soprano.

Calcamuggio has been featured in important roles and company debuts across the United States, eliciting kudos for her “soaring, rich voice” (The Miami Herald), her “polished musical and dramatic characterizations” (Kurt Weill Newsletter), her “fine coloratura technique” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and that she is “endearingly funny” (KDHX St. Louis).

Before the pandemic halted the musical world, Ms. Calcamuggio was to have returned to the operatic stage with Kentucky Opera in a role debut as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. As a recitalist, she would have been appearing at Virginia Tech as a guest clinician in their guest artist series as well as a guest clinician. Additionally, she would have introduced audiences to songs from the women’s suffrage movement performed at the symposium, “Suffragism and Music at the Centennial.”

During the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Calcamuggio returned as the mezzo-soprano soloist with the Louisville Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, with Heidelberg University Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, and with the University of Louisville’s Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Mass in C. As a recitalist, she performed her “Choose Your Own Adventure Recital” with co-creator Genevieve Thiers as a guest recitalist for the Musicians’ Club of Women in Chicago, Illinois. She continued her work with the Piatigorsky Foundation, performing recitals with Douglas Kinney Frost in venues across Georgia and with Kessa Mefford in Arizona. After an international debut in Europe in the summer of 2019, the United States debut of “The Shape of Things to Come” will be welcomed at the University of Louisville, where Ms. Calcamuggio makes her first movie appearance as the narrator.

Previous seasons included role debuts with Union Avenue Opera as Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, Kentucky Opera as Giovanna in Rigoletto, Julia Child in Hoiby’s Bon Appetit with Opera on the James, the Mezzo-Soprano soloist for Handel’s Messiah with Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (company debut) and the Louisville Orchestra, the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Green Bay Civic Symphony, Chicago Community Chorus and University of Michigan, the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Toledo Symphony, Midland Symphony, and the University of Chicago, and the Soprano soloist in John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man with the Oakland Symphony and University of Michigan. As an active recitalist, she performed with the Piatigorsky Foundation across Minnesota, Washington, Montana, Florida, and Oklahoma. She gave recitals in Chicago with the American Opera Society and the Chicago Lyric Opera Lake Geneva Chapter.

Auspicious operatic and symphonic debuts from recent seasons include roles as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, a world premiere of Vivian Fung’s Yushan Songs, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette with Syracuse Opera (for which Calcamuggio was named “Artist of the Year” in 2009); a much touted Sesto in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Un Musico in Manon Lescaut with Florida Grand Opera; the Young Nun in the world premiere of Stephen Hartke’s The Greater Good (available on the Naxos label); Aglaonice in Philip Glass’ critically-acclaimed Orphée with Glimmerglass Opera; and Inez in a concert performance of Verdi’s Il Trovatore under the baton of Maestro Eduardo Müller with the Miami Concert Association. Calcamuggio has also performed as a featured soloist in a recital of Rossini’s songs titled Sins of My Old Age with Opera Omaha and in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Park Ridge Symphony.

The mezzo-soprano has received top prizes in the American Opera Society, Palm Beach Opera, Bel Canto, and Shreveport Singer of the Year competitions. It has awards from the Chicago Women’s Musicians’ Club and the Anna Sosenko Trust. She is a former participant in young artists’ programs at Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, as well as the Aspen and Brevard Music Festivals.

Ms. Calcamuggio holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling Green State University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Louisville. Ms. Calcamuggio is gaining rapid recognition as a teacher, with her students earning roles in equity shows and top prizes in competitions.

Gabriel Evens - Pianist

Evens is the Associate Professor of Jazz Piano, Composition, and Arranging at the University of Louisville, Jazz Studies Program. He has performed throughout the United States and in Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, and France. He has played with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, the Miami City Ballet Orchestra, the University of North Texas Symphony and Concert Orchestras, the UNT One O’Clock Lab Band, and the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band.

As an arranger and composer, Evens has released eight albums of original music, written commissions for Sheena Easton and Kate McGarry with the Cape Symphony Orchestra, and for Nneena Freelon with the John Brown Big Band. He has had numerous compositions performed by chamber and large ensembles, including the Louisville Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica de Loja, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the UofL Symphonic Orchestra, the UofL Faculty Jazz Ensemble, and the legendary UNT One O’Clock Lab Band.

Evens is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, holds an MA in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of Miami, and a DMA in Performance, major in Jazz studies (composition emphasis) from the University of North Texas.

Chandor Gardens Foundation is honored to again host "piano sensation" Danny Wright in concert Thursday,  December 11, 2025 at 7:00 P.M in the Great Room of Chandor Gardens, Weatherford, TX. Concert tickets included complimentary pre-concert wine and lite hors d’oeuvres from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

For this very special Christmas concert Danny Wright will be featuring a number of songs from his last Christmas album of his career A Glorious Christmas (2023). This album features holiday standards including Joy to the World/Canon in D, as well as Where are you Christmas from the popular holiday movie Polar Express. The album, A Glorious Christmas, showcases his knack for transforming holiday classics into serene melodies.

The Fort Worth Texas native Danny Wright states “A Glorious Christmas features 12 beautiful arrangements and medleys, as well as a few originals. The tones in the music are unique and artistic. This is probably my favorite holiday album I have ever recorded.” He also states “God’s music is needed in this world, and I pray that this last Christmas album of my very long career touches the hearts and souls of everyone who hears it.”

To round out the evening Danny will select a few songs from his many other Christmas albums; Remembering Christmas (1989), Just Wright For Christmas (1992),  Christmas by Candlelight (1998), An Intimate Christmas (2004), Merry Christmas (2012), and Christmas Time is Here (2013). 

Tickets: $55  (includes complimentary pre-concert wine/beer and lite hors d’oeuvres)

Danny Wright

With over 60 albums recorded and millions of albums sold, it is true to say that Danny Wright's music is playing 24 hours a day in both the U.S. and around the world. One of new age music's finest performers, Wright is a brilliantly talented pianist whose music has the ability to stir the soul. He has sold millions of CDs since his debut album in 1986, is an award-winning Steinway Piano Artist, and was twice (1993 & 1994) named by Billboard Magazine as a Top 10 artist in the New Age genre.

Danny Wright's piano destiny began at age four. He studied under the respected professor, Dr. Harris Cavender. Trained as a classical pianist, Danny composes and performs uplifting original compositions that are blended with various influences including new age piano, contemporary jazz, classical and neoclassical. One might say his original compositions are similar in style to David Lanz and George Winston, while subtly drawing inspiration from classical composers such as Beethoven, Pachelbel and Debussy, and by such Broadway greats as Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Danny Wright has performed all over the world, including The Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, Canada, The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Parliament of Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah, and The Smith Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. At The Smith Center, Danny headlined the Jazz Cabaret Room for many years, and performed a concert in their largest auditorium with Ventriloquist Terry Fator.

Danny's life has consisted of his love of music, the piano, and his desire to share his gift with others. His warm, outgoing personality combined with extraordinary musical talent has enabled him to touch millions of listeners through his recordings and concerts.