Welcome to the 2024-2025 Season “Spirit of the Sound” and a huge welcome to our new Executive Director Juan Gallastegui!
We start in grand style with Von Suppé’s rousing horserace, the Light Calvary Overture. Our October symphony is a cornerstone of the Classical repertoire. Music historians agree there were two obvious pieces that altered the history of the orchestra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, the latter of which broke open the whole concept of rhythm. However, there is also a third piece, Mahler's 1st Symphony, The Titan, which demonstrated that a great Symphony could be assembled from songs and other seemingly disparate folk influences including Austrian Ländlers, Habsburg military marches, and the Klezmer music of Mahler’s youth. To round out the concert, soloist David Salge performs a concert rarity, the great Clarinet Concerto in A Minor by Charles Villiers Stanford.
The theme of our November concert is music by female composers. Clara Schumann, a much better pianist than her more famous husband Robert, composed a lovely piano concerto which is now a staple in the repertoire. Our soloists will be the amazingly talented Jinshil Yi. In my research, I discovered that Saint-Saëns greatly admired a woman named Augusta Holmès, but wrote that “her compositions were too vigorous and virile and that she composed like a man.” This statement feels misogynistic today and I have taken revenge by immediately programming her tone poem Roland furieux, while completely neglecting Saint-Saëns this season. Our overture is The Boatswain’s Mate by Dame Ethyl Smyth, an English composer and famous member of the women's suffrage movement.
The December holiday concert features beloved music of the season:; The Nutcracker Suite, half of Handel’s Messiah, featuring all his greatest chorales, and Poulenc’s delightful Gloria, conducted by Chorale Director LeeAnne Campos.
March brings the glories of our nimble and fleet-fingered chamber orchestra with Mozart's first great Symphony, the Little G Minor and my own Romanian Medley, a swirling celebration of Gypsy melodies and furious dances. Our featured soloist is the excellent pianist Ruth Harvey with Mendelssohn's Capriccio Brilliante. The concert begins with Brahms' enchanting Liebedlieder Waltzes led by Director LeeAnne Campos.
Later in March, we present OrKIDstra, a concert for schools, families, and children of all ages. Every instrument is a soloist star in Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Then, a special narrated story will be shared up on the big screen featuring the beloved Spanish bull from the classic children’s book, The Story of Ferdinand with music from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.
In May, we celebrate spring with George Gershwin's rousing overture from Girl Crazy and his patriotic Of Thee I Sing. Concert soloists will be chosen from the winners of our Young Artists Competition.
Also in May, Director LeeAnne Campos and the Chorale will perform Morten Lauridsen’s exquisitely beautiful Lux aeterna.
For the season finale in June, we present one of the greatest young soloists from our region, Adrian King in Franz Liszt's extremely athletic Piano Concerto #1. Dr. Thomas Cameron will open the show conducting Richard Wagner's stentorian Rienzi Overture. The final work is Respighi's largest and loudest orchestral tone-poem. We will shake the rafters with his Pines of Rome.
This is a great season. Don't miss a note!
All information – including auditions, educational programs, and other special events can be found on our website or by calling 360-373-1722. Subscriptions and single tickets now available.
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