Afternoon Music presents a concert of Mozart and other classical-era composers by members of the prestigious early music group ARTEK on Sunday, March 14, at The Unitarian Church in Summit, 4 Waldron Ave. (at Springfield Avenue). The 4 p.m. performance will feature keyboard artists Gwendolyn Toth and Dongsok Shin, playing on the fortepiano, a predecessor to the modern piano used from 1700 into the early 19th century. The two will perform on a historical copy of Mozart’s own fortepiano made by the American builder Philip Belt. Other performers will be cellist Loretta O’Sullivan and violinist Nancy Wilson. They will be performing on 18th century instruments restored to their original playing condition.

Billboard’s Heidi Waleson praised Artek’s "open, flexible sound" in reviewing the group’s CD of Orfeo by Monteverdi: "Toth’s fine period-instrument ensemble lets the music dance and breathe, yet her expansive, almost Romantic conception of the piece sacrifices no emotional detail." Gwendolyn Toth, founder of ARTEK in 1986, is recognized as an outstanding performer on early keyboard instruments, playing solo in numerous early music concerts in the U.S. and Europe. As a conductor, she has appeared at Sadler’s Wells in London with the Mark Morris Dance Group and at the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She recently led ARTEK’s 25th anniversary performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 to a packed house at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York. Dongsok Shin is much in demand as a soloist and continuo player specializing in early keyboard instruments. Currently a member of several early music groups in addition to ARTEK, he has also received critical acclaim as music director for early baroque operas. In his spare time, he tunes and maintains harpsichords and is harpsichord technician for the Metropolitan Opera. He and Ms. Toth are husband and wife.

Cellist Loretta O’Sullivan performs extensively on baroque, classical and modern cello. As a member of the Four Nations Ensemble, she has appeared on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, at the Kennedy Center and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Violinist Nancy Wilson is known as one of the leading Baroque violinists in the U.S. A member of many American period instrument ensembles, she has appeared with leading conductors in early music, including Jaap Schroeder, Christopher Hogwood and Nicholas McGegan. She teaches at Princeton University and at the Mannes College of Music in Manhattan. Afternoon Music’s final concert of the season will feature soprano Ilana Davidson, trumpeter Kevin Cobb and pianist Mitchell Vines in a program of vocal chamber music at 4 p.m., Sunday, April 18. Vines is artistic director of Afternoon Music and music director at The Unitarian Church in Summit. Afternoon Music tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors. Students are welcome free. After the concert, the audience is invited to meet the performers at a reception in the church lobby.

Afternoon Music is funded in part by grants from the Manley-Winser Foundation, the Summit Area Public Foundation and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through a grant administered by the Union County Division of Cultural & Heritage Affairs.

For further information, contact the church at (908) 273-3245 or www.ucsummit.org