What: Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra with JCSO Chorus
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013
Where: Mitchell Auditorium on the Lincoln University campus
Tickets: $15 adults; $5 students; available at Jefferson City Community Concert website.
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The season's first concert for the Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra features three works - Mussorgsky/Tushmalov: "Picture at an Exhibition"; Borodin: "Polovtsain Dances;" and Poulenc: "Gloria" performed with the JCSO Chorus.
Mussorgsky/Tushmalov was the first orchestration of "Pictures at an Exhibition" and was made by Mikhail Tushmalov, a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov. This version was given its first performance in 1891 with Rimsky-Korsakov conducting. Its only recording to date is by the Munich Philharmonic under Marc Andrae.
Borodin: Polovtsain Dances are perhaps the best known selections from Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor (1890) and are often played as a standalone concert piece.
Both of these selections are from the Russian Five from the romantic period, and are very powerful.
"Gloria" by Francis Poulenc is scored for soprano solo, large orchestra, and chorus and is a setting of the Roman Catholic Gloria in Excelsis Deo text. It was commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation in honor of Sergei Koussevitzky and his wife, Natalia, and premiered in 1961 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Chorus Pro Musica.
This piece is more modern and will show the French influence.
Tom Higgins, president of the orchestra, said that this year's orchestra is one of the largest, with a total of about 80 members made up of wind section, percussion and strings.
The orchestra represents a cross section of the area with performers from all professions. There are students, educators, lawyers, medical personnel and office workers.
According to Higgins, the group is enjoying the rehearsals and performing the slate set for the season.
The musically inclined public can apply to join the orchestra. There are no auditions. Application procedures can be found on the website.
Principal musical conductor for the orchestra is Patrick Clark.
Higgins credits Clark for unifying the group and bringing fresh life to the orchestra. He said they are truly enjoying the music they are performing.
Performing with the orchestra for this concert is the JCSO Chorus with soloist Bethany Kiral.