This internationally-known concert pianist is bringing top-quality music to River Edge

Bodies in the Seats. That's rule no. 1 for any venue — whether its a theater, cinema, concert hall, or The First Congregational Church of River Edge.

Like many places, they've experienced a decline in attendance, post-COVID.

Unlike many paces, they're doing something about it. Something interesting.

The River Crossing Concerts, a series of classical and jazz performances that have been hosted by the church for a year and a half, are many things. They are art. They are entertainment. They are a way to showcase the talents of Slavina Zhelezova, the internationally-known concert pianist who became the church's musical director in 2021. She's played some of the concerts, and curated all of them.

Not least, they are a way to reintroduce people to the church. Perhaps remind them of how much they miss it.

Empty pews

"Churches right now are going through a very difficult time, trying to get people back in the pews," said Bert Stratford, one of a foursome of church members who are producing the events.

As of 2023, they've ramped up to four shows a year. The next one, on June 4, will be something of a joyous potpourri: the Nicole Zuraitis Trio (jazz originals and Broadway standards), Alí Bello and the Sweet Wire Band (Latin Jazz), City Winds Trio (ragtime), the Tri-county Irish War Pipe Band (traditional Irish music from River Edge), Batalá (an all-female percussion group), and Zhelezova's own GZ Piano Duo (tango, classical, Hungarian dances).

The free 12 to 6 P.M. concert — donations accepted — will, weather permitting, be outdoors. But a congregation is a congregation. No matter whether the roof they're sitting under is man's, or God's.

"Something's going on in this country, where there's a decline in worship services," said Stratford, a River Edge resident. "I think everybody's being affected by it. It's a complex situation. We want to get people back to the church."

Zhelezova, it turns out, was just the one to help.

In addition to being a high profile concert pianist who has toured Europe, Mexico, China and Taiwan with her performing partner, pianist Citlalli Guevara, she was also the music director for a Bronxville church at the time COVID suddenly forced people into lockdown.

Home alone

Her concert engagements stopped, abruptly. All that was left were the Sunday services — conducted virtually. She suddenly discovered how much music means to people. And also how much people mean to a performer.

"Literally overnight, we went to live-streaming services," she said. "I was playing in an empty church, for a camera. We pianists sometimes have our heads in the sand — practicing, practicing, practicing. We don't realize how much the connection with the audience means to us. The euphoria, the energy of the crowds, the applause. You don't realize how much it means until it's not there."

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Equally, she learned that people are thirsty for music. She suddenly felt needed, in a way she never had before.

"I don't think if I had cancelled a concert before, anyone would have cared," said Zhelezova, originally from Bulgaria (she now lives in New York). "But if I missed a Sunday, folks knew it. I suddenly realized how meaningful this is to people."

So when the world began to open up — cautiously — in 2021, Zhelezova knew just what would draw people to her new professional home, The First Congregational Church. Her first concert there, a four-hand piano recital with her partner Guevara, featured Schubert, Poulenc, some Brahms Hungarian Dances, and some Astor Piazzolla tangos. And folks beat a path to the church door.

"Maybe 100 people showed up," Stratford said. "They did a full act, two hours. They were phenomenal. And this started us all thinking: with this ability and her talent and her contacts, let's start to do more of these. That's the germ that really set this off."

In the spotlight

Stratford knows show business. He's had a long career as a theater and TV producer, and sometime Broadway actor. His wife, Lee Meredith — also a Congregational congregant — is well known from her roles on stage, film, and TV (she was the original Ulla in Mel Brooks' 1967 "The Producers"). The two have themselves done productions at the church, from time to time. All of which is to say, it takes talent to know talent. And Zhelezova is it.

"We were really lucky," he said. "Our organist had retired, and we were looking for a new one. She showed up and blew everybody away. She was one of the best pianists I've heard."

Previous shows have been all over the musical map: from vocal programs with tenor Errin Brooks and baritone Kyle Oliver, to a Women's History Month show that featured music by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (the more talented Mendelssohn, if you ask some). But the common denominator in all these attractions was the live audience.

"We're just bringing all these people back to in-person performances," Zhelezova said. "During COVID, you could feel this kind of distance, with people wearing masks and sitting six feet apart, and not really connecting. I wanted to do something about that. And then there's this civil war going on in this country. There was a need for some unifying experience. Music is the best cure for all of this."

If you go...

River Crossing Concerts, featuring Nicole Zuraitis Trio, Alí Bello and the Sweet Wire Band, City Winds Trio, others. 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. June 4, First Congregational Church, 109 Continental Ave, River Edge. Free admission; donations accepted. rivercrossingconcerts.org