UA’s Huxford Symphony Orchestra to Perform Oct. 13

huxfordoct16TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama School of Music’s Huxford Symphony Orchestra will perform its second concert of the 2016-2017 season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Moody Music Building Concert Hall.

Dr. Blake Richardson, conductor of the Huxford Symphony Orchestra and assistant professor of orchestral studies, said three pieces will be performed at the nearly two-hour concert: Christopher Theofanidis’ “Rainbow Body,” Otmar Nussio’s “Variations on an Arietta by Pergolesi” and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

“’Rainbow Body’ by Theofanidis is an orchestral piece written in 2000 by an American performer,” Richardson said. “The Tuscaloosa audience may be familiar with his music because the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra recently played a piece by him.

“Theofanidis came to Tuscaloosa for that performance Sept. 12, 2016, and we were able to have him come to a Huxford Symphony rehearsal and talk to us about the piece and listen to us perform it. We received his feedback, and he was really complimentary of the performance.”

The second piece being performed, Variations on an Arietta by Pergolesi, will feature Dr. Jenny Mann, associate professor of bassoon, Richardson said.

The third piece, Symphony No. 4, will be a large-scale work for the orchestra. Dr. Susan Williams, assistant professor of voice and vocal pedagogy, will sing a soprano solo during the piece.

“Mahler’s music is known for really passionate, energetic writing for very large orchestras, and the music is known to probe all the reaches of human emotion,” Richardson said. “So you’ll feel things that are very ecstatic and happy and also things that are very dark and brooding with childlike simplicity. It’s a very poignant reflection for the human experience.”

This year’s orchestra has a total of 70 student musicians. The instruments that make up the orchestra are 18 violins, six violas, seven cellos, four basses, four flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, five horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, one harp, one piano and five percussion instruments.

“This is a really exciting program, I think, and it’s music anyone can enjoy from first-time music goers to people who have been coming to symphony for years,” Richardson said.

The orchestra performs six concerts a season. The next performance will be Nov. 17. Richardson said George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” would be performed in that concert, among other pieces.

Tickets for Thursday’s concert cost $10 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens and $3 for students with student ID. Tickets can be bought at http://uamusic.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=892068 or at the Moody Music Building box office before the performance.

Contact

Jamon Smith, media relations, jamon.smith@ua.edu, 205/348-4956

Source

Dr. Blake Richardson, pbrichardson@ua.edu, 205/348-5737