The West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra opens its season Thursday, Sept. 29, with a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s ecstatic, energetic, and at times even frenzied “Symphony No. 7 in A Major.”
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre of the Creative Arts Center.
“This symphony is a series of movements based on driving rhythmic action,” said conductor Mitchell Arnold, who is director of orchestral studies at WVU.
“Each captures the essence of humans in motion, from hectic dance to solemn funeral march.”
PROGRAM
Giuseppe Verdi - Overture to "Giovanna d'Arco"
John Beall - Symphony No. 2 "Spruce Knob"
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 in A Major
The orchestra will also present the Morgantown premiere performance of WVU Composer-in-Residence John Beall’s “Spruce Knob” Symphony No. 2.
“Many West Virginians have reached the summit of the state’s highest mountain, Spruce Knob,” Dr. Arnold said. “John’s exquisite symphony conveys the awesome beauty and majesty of our state’s treasured landmark.”
In addition, the program also includes Verdi’s overture to “Giovanna d’Arco,” conducted by doctoral student Alejandro Pinz�n, who is completing a degree in orchestral conducting at WVU.
Arnold received a doctorate in conducting from Northwestern University and has an extensive background in new music. Before coming to WVU, he was director of orchestras at Northern Illinois University and assistant director of orchestras at Northwestern University. He has also served on the faculties at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music.
Beall, who has been composer-in-residence since 1978, has written more than 100 major works while at WVU, many of them based on Appalachian themes, folk materials and hymns.
Symphony No. 2, “Spruce Knob,” was premiered by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and also was on the inaugural concert of the orchestra in the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in downtown Charleston. Beall is a graduate of Baylor University and the Eastman School of Music.
Alejandro Pinz�n is a young and versatile Mexican musician. He is music director of the WVU Community Arts Orchestra and conductor of the String Studio and String Ensemble at Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pa. He is also choir director of the Coro Latinoamericano – Pittsburgh, with whom he has presented several concerts and programs to share the music and cultures of Latin America in the Western Pennsylvania region.
For concert tickets and information, call the WVU Box Office at (304) 293-SHOW.
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CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu
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