Tickets are on sale for the Northern Neck Orchestra’s (NNO) 2018-19 season. The program will feature masterworks by Tchaikovsky, Haydn and Mozart; compositions by Bernstein and Copland; works by the Schumann family and the special talents of young soloists.
“Music director Michael Repper will be returning for his third season, leading the wonderful musicians of the orchestra with the artistry and energy that make each concert memorable,” said president Michelle Lybarger.
He also will host enlightening and entertaining talks before each concert, said Lybarger.
Season tickets for three concerts are $75. Tickets for individual performances are $30. Tickets can be purchased at www.northerneckorchestra.org/tickets, or at the door. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by pre-concert talks at 6:45 p.m.
The orchestra’s 28th season will open October 27 at the Lancaster Middle School Theater, 191 School Street, Kilmarnock, with one of the most famous of all violin concertos, Tchaikovsky’s passionate Violin Concerto in D Major, with violinist Grace Park, said Lybarger.
Park has been the featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress and Walt Disney Hall and performed alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The concert will celebrate Leonard Bernstein on the 100th anniversary of his birth with performances of two glittering Bernstein compositions CBS Music and Slava. The program includes Sibelius’ stirring anthem Finlandia, said Lybarger.
The winter concert will be presented March 22 at the St. Clare Walker Middle School Theater, 6814 General Puller Highway, Locust Hill, and March 23 at Northumberland High School Theater, 201 Academic Lane, Heathsville.
The program will open with Haydn’s spirited Symphony No. 83 and will highlight music of American composers, including Aaron Copland’s delightful Old American Songs with the Chesapeake Chorale and Gwyneth Walker’s moving Sweet Land, Lybarger said.
The orchestra also will perform the winning composition in the NNO’s Composition Contest, a statewide contest to identify creative new composers in Virginia.
The season will conclude May 25 at the Lancaster Middle School Theater with tributes to Mozart and the Schumann family, Clara and her husband Robert, she said.
The concert will begin with Mozart’s unforgettable Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, followed by a performance of Clara Schumann’s virtuoso Piano Concerto, with soloist Vijay Venkatesh.
The pianist has appeared with the Seattle Symphony, Sarasota Symphony Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Vienna International Orchestra and performed in concert halls in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
The program will conclude with a performance of Robert Schumann’s majestic Symphony No. 3.
“The NNO enriches our special community’s cultural life with its inspiring performances,” said Lybarger. “Support us by attending our concerts and making a donation to continue to bring great classical music to our area.”
