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SSO Music Director and Conductor Peter Stafford Wilson kicks off an exciting 2009-10 season Oct. 3. |
One of Clark County's premier cultural institutions and one of America's finest liberal arts institutions are collaborating on the first-ever Wittenberg at the Symphony event, designed to introduce more members of the Wittenberg community to SSO, which is celebrating its 66th year of high-quality entertainment. The event includes a pre-concert program with composer Lowell Liebermann at 7:15 p.m., a concert that features a performance by Christopher Durrenberger, concert pianist and associate professor of music at Wittenberg, at 8 p.m. and a reception after the concert, all at the Clark State Performing Arts Center.
Wittenberg's women's a cappella ensemble Just Eve will perform at the reception, and patrons will also have the opportunity to greet Durrenberger and SSO Music Director and Conductor Peter Stafford Wilson.
All WittSem students can attend 2009-10 SSO performances for free. They simply need to request tickets within 10 days of each performance. In addition, there are discounted tickets available for Wittenberg faculty, staff and alumni. For more information, log on to the Symphony's Web site or call (937) 328-3874.
The highlight of the evening figures to be Durrenberger's solo performance of Piano Concerto No. 2, op. 36 by Lowell Liebermann, one of America's most frequently performed and recorded living composers, following intermission. The SSO will perform Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, op. 62 and Symphony No. 8 in F Major, op. 93 during the first half of the concert. Click here to read more about Durrenberger and the Oct. 3 performance.
The concert is one of four MasterWorks concerts, performances by the SSO with world class soloists in a traditional concert setting, scheduled for the 2009-10 SSO season. In addition, two concerts are labeled NightLights, which are described as "casual concerts of great light classics."
Durrenberger is making his second solo performance with the SSO, although he has joined the orchestra many times in recent years. His first solo concerto performance with the ensemble came in July 2005 when he played George Gershwin's famed Rhapsody in Blue at the Veteran's Park Ampitheatre as part of the Springfield Arts Council's annual Summer Arts Festival.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1943 and performed its first complete concert in 1944 at Central Methodist Church in Springfield. The SSO now presents more than 90 events each year, including a six-concert subscription series, small ensemble visits to area schools, Concerts for Young People, the Springfield Youth Symphony and Springfield Youth String Ensemble, free outreach performances and two fund-raisers. The orchestra also plays several concerts each summer as part of the Summer Arts Festival, which was created in 1967 to provide community activities headlined by local arts organizations during their annual summer offseason.
Written by: Ryan Maurer
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