Free and easy Fall features professional, local, world-renowned, faculty, and student musicians BY BECCA DEWAN

Autumn is my favorite season of the year (I have dedicated much time to finding any discernable difference between Autumn and Fall and have found none): changing leaves, crisp air, apple cider, and the absence of tourists.

What do I miss of the summer? Chamber music and a plethora of free outdoor culturally varied concerts. Wait, the latter was in Chicago, where I spent much of my summer. Not in Portland. And the chamber music that was in Maine has all left. Gone the way of the Summerfolk. It will be back next summer to Vacationland, to bolster the economy and to create traffic jams along Route One.

So what do to in the meantime? I think there are two general responses to this. A: You didn’t go to any classical concerts over the summer and the fall is most likely not going to be any different. Or B: You know the PSO begins their season soon and have already bought your tickets thinking that’s the only way to indulge in your love for classical music. Okay . . . or C: You’ve done all the same research I have and know there’s lots more going on in Maine, and therefore have no use for the rest of what I’ll write.

I believe unconsciously I’ve made it my mission to convince non-classical music listeners to become listeners. Or at least help them give it serious consideration. But now that I’ve realized my mission, I can become ardently overzealous about it.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra begins their season October 19 with Wagner, Mozart (with guest pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn), and Rimsky-Korsakov. The PSO has three different series of concerts throughout the year. The opening night marks the beginning of the Classical Tuesdays. Portland Symphony Pops! is a weekend series of Gershwin and swing music. Classical Sundays opens on October 31, with some beautiful music, and some spooky music appropriate for the day. Surely there’s enough variety for everyone.

Having a matinee concert on Halloween, I think, is a brilliant idea. Bring the kids to a cultural event for which the reward is trick-or-treating. Or go by yourself and enjoy some personal time before your doorstep is overrun by neighborhood children in unrecognizable costumes.

The PSO concerts aren’t the only events happening at Merrill Auditorium. The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ kick off their 92nd season with a silent film night just before Halloween. What a hoopla this will be: three silent films, live organ music, costume contests! (And if you like it the first time, they do it again for Valentine’s Day.)

PCA Great Performances brings New York to your doorstep, too, by way of Merrill Auditorium — a varied schedule of classical, jazz, Broadway, dance, opera, and popular music. The Regina Carter Quintet opens the season. Carter is a jazz violinist. Jazz violin. She manipulates her instrument in unimaginable ways, and her sound is just magnificent. When I was first introduced to her music, it blew my mind, creating an upheaval in my set bank of sounds that a violin could produce.

But back to classical music. The Mendelssohn String Quartet will play Beethoven, Janacek, and a Mozart Viola Quintet featuring the violinist’s father, the great Robert Mann, on viola. The Stanislavsky Opera Company from Russia will perform La Traviata.

Freddy Kempf is a young pianist who actually gained international acclaim when he did not win the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998. The upset loss elicited an astounding reaction from the Russian press and shot young Kempf into the international spotlight. He’ll be performing Beethoven’s "Moonlight" and "Pathétique" Sonatas, and Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition."

The two Beethoven sonatas are ones that you will recognize, even if right now you don’t know them by their titles. The first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" has been used in countless movie scores, and this would be a great opportunity to hear the entire piece.

As the fall winds down, get ready for winter at the St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center. Rebecca Wing is an eclectic Buddhist musician who combines jazz, world music, and classical styles in her compositions. This year will be the fourth that she has performed a Winter Solstice Concert.

The Immanuel Baptist Church in Portland often hosts concerts throughout the year. Two in particular to watch for are Cameron Carpenter, back in Maine after a fabulous summer concert with FOKO, on September 19, and the University of Southern Maine Chamber Singers on November 30.

Many Southern Maine colleges have music faculty who give regular concerts, and many also host outside musicians for special occasion concerts. Bowdoin College has a Teatime Concert series with performers Elliot Schwartz, Tom Cornell, and Maciej Walczak. The Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Edmund Battersby will also perform at Bowdoin.

Bates College has a Tuesday Noonday Concert series featuring their faculty members and their artist in residence, Frank Glazer. The Verdehr Trio will perform violin-clarinet-piano music, and Atsuko Hirai with Frank Glazer will perform Brahms lieder.

The faculty at the University of Southern Maine is very busy. Many members perform with the PSO and others have professional chamber ensembles. USM’s School of Music has a Faculty Concert series beginning in October with 3 Divas in Concert featuring Deborah Hall, Judith James, and Marie Pressman.

Brian L. Diehl will provide also a "Trombonist’s View of Musical History." I’ve been attending classical concerts for most of my life, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a solo trombone concert. This I’m looking forward to.

The final concert of the fall semester features Bill Street on saxophone.

The Portland String Quartet can be seen all over Maine. They kick off Colby College’s music calendar in September. PSQ will be doing a residency at the Portland Conservatory in conjunction with a lecture series. And they will perform periodically at the Woodford’s Congregational Church.

Speaking of the Portland Conservatory, they have their own concert series called Noonday Concerts held at First Parish Church in Portland. The playlist ranges from flute and accordion music to Scottish fiddle music to trumpet and piano duets. All of these concerts are free. Which brings me to the last section of this fall preview.

Free classical music: It can’t get any better than that. I mentioned all the faculty members performing at various colleges, but now I’ll mention the students.

What better way to dabble in classical music for the first time than by attending a student’s senior recital? The music always spans many periods of musical style, and the concerts are never more than an hour. Just please, don’t applaud after each movement of a piece.

And as long as I’m mentioning college students, support your local school districts. Music is on the brink of becoming extinct in many schools — attend the concerts. Plus, there’s nothing more adorable than elementary school children singing Mozart.

Professional, local, world-renowned, faculty, and student musicians. Portland has it all this fall.

Becca DeWan can be reached at beccadewan@mac.com