“Fresh Leaves,” a joyful collection of chamber music composed and performed by flutist Susan Conant, with pianist Lynn McCanne, soprano Cynthia Spiegel and violinist Elena Spiegel, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Geneva.

The music, which utilizes both classical and traditional flutes including C flute, alto flute, Irish whistle and Native American flute, is a lyrical fusion of Celtic, folk, classical and jazz idioms.
 
“Fresh Leaves” refers to Conant’s newest compositions. The group also will perform selections from her compact disc, “A New Leaf,” published in 2007. “Suite for Flute Alone,” four contrasting movements, blends bits of Celtic, Latin and jazz alternating between washes of color and flashy rhythms. Geneva Community High School’s Elena Spiegel will join Conant on “Dialogue II,” a duet for flute and violin that layers a soaring melody line against a driving, fiddle-like ostinato. “The Tide,” based on poetry of Longfellow and Sandburg, showcases the lyric soprano voice of St. Charles Singers member Cynthia Spiegel.
 
Conant recently relocated to Charleston, S.C., from St. Charles. A longtime favorite of the Tri-Cities, Conant has played in a diverse collection of local classical and folk chamber ensembles and was one of the music directors at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva. She is also known as the landscape architect for RiverPark in Geneva and for her work with the Fox Valley Park District. Conant has received a warm welcome in her newly adopted city, where she has been engaged to perform this program at the Piccolo Spoletto Festival in late May.
 
The concert will be held in the 1843 church at 102 S. Second St. (at the intersection of Second and James streets, a block east of the downtown courthouse). Admission at the door will be $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and students.

Conant was first enchanted by English and Celtic folk music as a young child. Her grandmother (Lily Conant) was a longtime steward of Pinewoods, a folk dance and folk music camp in Plymouth, Mass. Susan spent her summers there playing early music on the recorder and learning traditional dance and music from the British Isles and North America. She later studied flute performance at the New England Conservatory with Claude Monteux.
 
As a founding member of James Street Players, a Geneva, Ill., classical chamber group; Musaica, a Latin folk ensemble; and O’re the Border, a Scottish country dance band, she has performed in many Chicago area festivals and concert series.
 
McCanne performs locally in the western suburbs of Chicago, provides piano music at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva and is a member of a number of area vocal ensembles.

Cynthia Spiegel has been making a name for herself as a vocal soloist and chorister in the Chicago area. As a member of St. Charles Singers, she performed as soloist during the ensemble’s 2006 tour of France. She is also a member of Bella Voce, one of Chicago’s premier professional choirs.
 
Elena Spiegel, violinist, is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and was chosen for its elite string group, which participated in an April workshop led by world-renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel. She is a former member of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra and has attended Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan.