Third Thursdays @ Twelve (Noon) Concert Series
On the third Thursday of each month at 12 Noon from September through May (excluding Thanksgiving and the Thursday during Holy Week), Grace Church offers a series of 45-minute concerts for the benefit of the downtown Providence community and any visitors that stop by. These programs are informal and feature our resident musicians as well as guests from around the country. There is a free-will offering to help defray the costs of the series. Feel free to stay for a portion or the entire concert as your schedule allows. Upcoming concerts are listed below.
Click here to download a booklet of the series, or scroll down to see the line-up of performers for the
2025-2026 Concert Season!
Subscribe your email to the Music Mailing List to keep up with the Third Thursdays @ Twelve (Noon) Concert Series and all of our musical events at Grace Church, please contact Vince Edwards at vedwards@gracechurchprovidence.org
2025-2026 Concert Season
September 18
Liana Panlyeva, piano
Hailed by the New York Concert Review as “a wonderful pianist”, and one with “tender regard for the music, a captivating inwardness” by Fanfare Magazine, Liana Paniyeva has won prizes in numerous competitions internationally and has performed at festivals in Norway, Hungary, Austria, Canada, England, Italy, Syria, South Africa, Spain and Israel. Her recitals have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Worcester’s Mechanics Hall, the Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Merkin Hall in NYC to note highlights. For her Third Thursday concert, Ms. Panlyeva presents a program which includes Johannes Brahms’s Seven Fantasies, Op. 116, a late work celebrated for its subtle expressiveness and profound emotional depth. This is followed by Robert Schumann’s Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, which combines virtuosic brilliance with lyrical warmth. Together, these works illuminate the rich emotional and technical landscape of the Romantic piano repertoire.
October 16
Brooke Allen, bassoon
Vince Edwards and Noah Klein, piano
Brooke Allen is a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the United States Coast Guard Band. She also teaches bassoon at the University of Rhode Island and the University of Connecticut. Her program will include stylistic baroque music for the bassoon such as Vivaldi and Telemann as well as a 20th century Ralph Vaughan Williams arrangement of folk songs.
November 20
From England to Italy
Jennifer Burks, soprano
Brian Bartling, lute
Soprano Jennifer Burks and Lutenist Brian Bartling team up to present a program of music from England and Italy, featuring composers John Dowland, John Danyel, and others. Jennifer is a Boston-based soprano and holds a Master’s degree in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory. She has a thriving studio of voice students, and particularly enjoys performing early music, and music of the Baroque and Classical periods. Brian is also a graduate of New England Conservatory and plays the lute, guitar, and bass. He has performed with various ensembles, including the Hope Collective, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Charles River Sinfonietta, and the Rhode Island College Symphony Orchestra.
December 18
Sounds of the Season
Brad Kleyla, tenor
Hyunjung Choi, harp
Tenor Brad Kleyla and harpist Hyunjung Choi join forces to present a joyful Christmas concert. Brad will sing arias from Messiah as well as Pietro Yon’s beloved Gesu Bambino, accompanied by harp, and Hyunjung will present two sets of Christmas tunes — one featuring traditional carols, and the other showcasing popular contemporary holiday songs. She will include her personal favorite — the Interlude from A Ceremony of Carols.
January 15
The Convoco Ensemble
This project-based initiative began through a creation of virtuosic virtual choir content at a time in 2020 when singers were unable to assemble in person due to COVID-19. These musicians desired to come together virtually to connect and use their voices to create something beautiful at a time when professional gigs and live concerts weren’t happening. Since then, Convoco has evolved and grown into a consort of talented singers. The Convoco Ensemble strives to share choral excellence to the world through democratic collaboration, community engagement, artistic creativity, all the while fostering a genuine love of music and the music-making process. As an ensemble, we take on recording and performance projects throughout our season. Our community outreach and collaboration has included a choral composition residency at Drew University in 2023, the Avaloch Farm Music Institute residency in 2023, and several premiers of composers’ works (both live and recorded).
February 19
Music for Oboe and Piano
Cheryl Bishkoff, oboe
Vince Edwards and Noah Klein, piano
Our dear friend Cheryl Bishkoff makes her annual return to this lunchtime concert series, playing classic works for oboe. Oboist Cheryl Priebe Bishkoff, described as “a musician of incredible artistry” (Richmond News Leader), is universally recognized for her inspiring musicality, uniquely glorious sound and charismatic performing style. She is principal oboe of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and is Adjunct Artist in Music in Brown University’s Department of Music.
March 19
Chamber Music from Brown University
Student Chamber Music Ensembles
from Brown University’s Department of Music
This concert will feature students participating in Chamber Music Ensembles in the Music Department at Brown University. These groups generally consist of 3-5 members and are coached by highly trained professional musicians, some of whom are Teaching Associates in the Applied Music Program at Brown.
April 16
Julia Alexander, Mezzo-Soprano
Vince Edwards and Noah Klein, piano
Julia Alexander, mezzo-soprano, is a Providence-based musician. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, they currently sing with the Church of the Redeemer choir in Newton, MA, as well as Collegium Ancora at Grace Church. The program will include works by Reynaldo Hahn and Paul Hindemith.
May 21
Fanfares for the Founders
D.J. Cleavinger, piano
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, D.J. Cleavinger grew up in an array of artistic activities: piano and voice study, leading roles in musical theatre productions, studio art classes – earning three gold key awards in the National Scholastic Competition, and various genres of choral singing through churches, schools, and the Cincinnati May Festival Youth Chorus. He completed his Bachelor of Music in 2021 at Miami University of Ohio, and his Master of Music from Boston University in 2025 under Prof. Pavel Nersessian. Leading up to USA’s 250th anniversary, pianist D.J. Cleavinger presents Fanfare for the Founders, an all-American recital of familiar and forgotten works by Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives, and more! The program also features Aaron Copland’s unpublished Piano Sonata in G Major – a work full of joy, romance, and wit.
