Description
A Celebration of Talented Youth
To kick off the second half of our 2021 – 2022 Season, ECO will be performing several exciting pieces that you are sure to enjoy.
We open the concert with Mozart’s unforgettable Overture from The Marriage of Figaro. Set in the key of D Major with a Presto tempo marking, this quick and lively overture stands on its own as one of Mozart’s most popular works. This overture, like Mozart’s overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio, Così fan tutte, and The Magic Flute, does not quote themes from the opera itself, nor does it fade into the opening measures of the opera. It does, however, give the audience a taste of the witty humor and manic mood that is pervasive throughout the opera.
After that, we will perform two ragtime pieces by James Reese Europe – Ballin’ the Jack Foxtrot and Castle House Rag. James Reese Europe was an African-American Ragtime and early Jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. A prominent figure of the African American music community in New York City in the early 1900’s, he composed countless rags, foxtrots, and other characteristic dance-focused works.
ECO will also perform a new composition by Cindy Hsu entitled Prayer for the Living. Here’s what the composer has to say about this new work:
“Prayer for the Living, written for string orchestra, was composed in August of 2020 when the world was experiencing such sorrow, difficulty, isolation, and the uncertainty of not knowing what tomorrow will bring because of the pandemic.
As a composer, I express my emotions best through my music. So I wrote Prayer for the Living to convey my sincere compassion for the suffering and losses many people have gone through, and to express a message of hope and a measure of comfort that better days will come, and that we can all get through this difficult time together.
The melodic themes are introduced and passed back and forth between the respective string instrument sections. Numerous solo melodic passages are intertwined throughout the piece to provide an additional sparkle and colorful aura to the composition’s solemn sentiment.
Prayer for the Living concludes with a gentle ascending melodic passage that represents peace, uplifting resolve and hope.”
Also on this amazing program – Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61.
Mendelssohn initially composed the Concert Overture as Op. 21, and later in his life in 1842 he composed the rest of the incidental music for William Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, incorporating the existing overture.
ECO will perform the Overture, Scherzo, Nocturne, Wedding March, and Finale of this delightful work.
Finally, we are ecstatic that Jocelynn King, the winner of our Second-Annual Young Artists Solo Competition hosted back in February of 2019, will be joining us to perform her selected piece – the Camille Saint-Saëns‘ incredible Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 in G Minor. Jocelynn will be performing the opening movement – Andante sostenuto. Saint Saëns was regarded as quite conservative in his compositional style, but during his early years he was actually fairly experimental. His Piano Concerto, and particularly the first movement, is a great example. One could almost consider the first movement as a Fantasy, rather than a typical sonata form first movement. It begins – quite unexpectedly for the time – with a solo cadenza, almost reminiscent of an improvisation on a Bach prelude. The rest of the movement is stunningly beautiful and highly virtuosic. Jocelynn’s performance was a treat for us all during the competition – and we’re so glad for you to be able to finally hear it!
PROGRAM:
W.A. Mozart
Overture from The Marriage of Figaro
James Reese Europe
Ballin’ the Jack Foxtrot
Castle House Rag
Camille Saint-Saëns
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 22 in G Minor
JOCELYNN KING – PIANO
I: Andante sostenuto
A note about COVID-19 and ECO's Live Performances
Evergreen Chamber Orchestra is committed to preserving the health and safety of our musicians, staff, and you – our audience. After evaluating our options and considering guidelines published by federal and state health authorities, we have decided to implement several policies and procedures to make sure our concerts are as safe as they possibly can be. Please take a moment to read our COVID-19 Policies for Live Events prior to purchasing a ticket.
One such policy is to limit capacity at our events to allow for sufficient physical distancing and refreshed airflow throughout the venue. While we believe this is the appropriate course of action in order to host a safer event, doing so limits our potential revenue. As an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, ticket revenue is one of our primary sources of income. We’ve always endeavored to keep ticket prices as low as possible in order to make our concerts affordable for everyone, and we will not be increasing ticket prices this year.
Our actual cost to produce this event with reduced capacity is around $50 per ticket.
All we ask is that if you are able to donate a bit in addition to the regular ticket price, please consider doing so. Even just a few dollars really does make a difference!