Houghton Symphony Orchestra will present its first concert of the Spring 2018 semester tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Wesley Chapel. The orchestra has been working on the repertoire for this concert since the beginning of the semester, in tandem with music for the recent production of Oklahoma! and repertoire for their concert in April. When asked to comment on how she felt about the collection, computer science major and clarinetist Teresa Soley ’20 sarcastically quipped, “Some of the songs sound like things I’ve heard previously in movies.”
Dr. Armenio Suzano, dean of the Greatbatch School of Music and conductor of the orchestra, stated that “This concert [features] an incredibly eclectic program with something for everyone: from the old school Magnificent Seven movie score, to the delightful ‘Ashokan Farewell’ (Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary), to the gorgeous Schindler’s List theme and all the way to the heart-wrenching ‘Adagio for Strings’ by Barber (theme from the movie Platoon) and the must-have Star Wars theme. There will be a special movie theme for every movie and music lover!”
It has become a tradition for the orchestra to put on a “Music at the Movies” concert nearly every spring semester, because of the great opportunity it offers to reach out to the non-musical members of Houghton’s community. The popularity of film scores like Star Wars cannot be denied, especially when it features a saxophone part played by none other than the fantastic Derek Chase ’19.
Many of the orchestra members enjoy playing such familiar repertoire. They reported that it can be fun for musicians to take a break from the seriousness of Bach and Beethoven and delve into the well-known sounds of John Williams and Danny Elfman. When asked if she was excited for the concert, Alanna Paris ’18 exclaimed, “I am! It’s my favorite concert of the year. It’s always fun to listen to music you know and to see just what Dr. Suzano might say that’s delightful in his opening remarks.”
Many hands always come together to organize concerts like the one tonight.. One important person who helped with the production of this concert is Kira Browning, second year graduate student and violist. She was able to offer some information on what the orchestra has planned for the evening. “We’ll have introductions to many of the pieces showing a highlight from the movie to which the music belongs,” Browning explained.
Browning also added that “Two pieces [in] the concert feature the violin, with the solos to be played by our co-concert masters: Chantalle Falconer and Cassie Harrison.” The Houghton Symphony Orchestra’s co-concert masters will both be graduating this semester. Falconer is a third year graduate student studying collaborative piano performance. Harrison is a senior majoring in music education who will be going on to study Suzuki pedagogy at Ithaca College’s school of music. Symphony Concert members reported that both Falconer and Harrison are incredibly talented musicians.
All members of the orchestra have been working hard on this fun and approachable repertoire and look forward to sharing it with the greater Houghton community.