ASO Opens 52nd Season With 'The Planets'
Brilliant brass, pulsating percussion and scintillating strings unite as the Alma Symphony Orchestra opens its 52nd season with “Begin with a Bang!”
The season opener features portions of Gustav Holst’s famous score “The Planets,” including the three best-known movements themed for the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The program also features two American works — Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” and John Mackey’s Concerto for Percussion featuring Alma College faculty percussionist David Zerbe playing a wide array of instruments.
The concert takes place at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 in the Remick Heritage Center at Alma College. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and up, and free for Alma College staff, students, and youth 18 and under. Seating is reserved. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
The ASO opens a new season Oct. 9.
The performance will be both visually exciting and emotionally intense, says Murray Gross, director of the Alma Symphony Orchestra.
“This concert is particularly suited to families and people who haven’t heard the symphony before,” he says. “Audiences are always surprised and delighted at the excellence of our symphony, and this will be a particularly fun concert to hear.”
Many of the featured pieces will be recognizable, says Gross. Listeners may recognize hints of John Williams’ score for “Star Wars” in Holst’s “Mars.” Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” has been performed at memorial services for luminaries including Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy, and appeared on the soundtrack of “Platoon.”
Zerbe takes the stage for “an intense and physical conclusion” with the Concerto for Percussion, which requires him to play a variety of instruments ranging from timpani and cymbals to congas and bongos. Composer John Mackey has commented that the concerto requires the soloist to play with incredible virtuosity.
“Along with being a visual and social event, the musical experience of hearing a live symphony simply cannot be recreated from even the very best speaker system,” says Gross. “There’s a lot of energy that actually comes from the stage. It physically makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. It’s really a unique and emotional experience, the intensity of which can only be truly felt by attending a live performance.”
Posted: Wed, September 28th, 2011 at 3:39PM
