He's conducted at concert halls across the world, but Kirk Trevor hates the term classical music.
"There are only two types of music: good music and bad music, whether it's pop, punk, rock, jazz or rap," he said. "I think we can appreciate many more types of music than we think we can."
Trevor hopes to offer that level of musical admiration to the audience during Tuesday's Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra performance. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Mitchell Auditorium on Lincoln University's campus, 706 E. Dunklin St.
Tuesday's performance will feature the works of late 19th century Russian composer Kalinnikov, a program Trevor has conducted several times during his more than 40-year career as a symphonic conductor. Most recently, Trevor was the Missouri Symphony conductor in Columbia; he recently stepped down after 20 years to work on other projects and resume traveling as a guest conductor and teacher for groups across the world.
Some free time in his schedule connected Trevor to the Jefferson City group for this concert. JCSO is looking to hire a permanent conductor this spring.
The Kalinnikov program, Trevor said, is ideal for a community orchestra, like JCSO, which is comprised of 50-60 non-professional musicians -- music teachers, students, retirees and hobbyists.
"It is difficult for a community orchestra," he said, "but it's playable. It has all of those great tunes the late Russians gave us. ... It's cheerful and memorable."
In addition to the works of Kalinnikov, practicing for which took the bulk of the group's two and a half months of rehearsals, Trevor looked to balance the concert with contrasting pieces from other composers that were a bit simpler.
He chose a Mozart overture along with English composer Frederick Delius' "On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring."
"It's a big, eclectic mix with different styles and eras – from the classical of Mozart, to the impressionists of Delius, to the ultra romantic of Kalinnikov," Trevor said. "So hopefully the program is really appealing to the listener."
Whether or not you're a music enthusiast, symphony performances offer a lot for the audience to see as well as hear, Trevor said, noting the physical -- sometimes animated -- interactions between the conductor and musicians as well as the way musicians communicate with one another while performing.
"It's an experience," he said. "It's not about classical music and being stuffy."
When he was being trained as a conductor 50 years ago in England, Trevor said classical music concerts were very serious -- entering a concert hall was like entering a church, something you got dressed up for and did with reverence.
"Now, everyone is looking for something different from a concert experience; it's a true transformative thing," he said. "Hopefully we can give them some of those transformative experiences during the course of this concert as well."
Tickets for Tuesday's Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra concert are $15 for adults and $5 for students. They can be purchased at the door or online through EventBrite.
Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra rehearsal. Shaun Zimmerman / News Tribune
Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra rehearsal. Shaun Zimmerman / News Tribune
Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra rehearsal directed by Kirk Trevor. Shaun Zimmerman / News Tribune