The Fremont Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Rebecca Murdock, is presenting a varied program of Baroque to modern orchestral works. The concert will be performed at the Lander Valley High School auditorium at 7 pm on Saturday, October 28.
The FSO will feature Lauren Skinner, guest soloist, on Liebesrut Eines Faun (Love Call of a Faun) by Hans Steinmetz. Steinmetz, a little-known German composer, wrote the piece in 1956 for English Horn and piano. Skinner is well-known to Lander audiences as an “import” musician with the symphony, performing often as a member of the orchestra. She is a member of the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra and is an active chamber music performer in Colorado.
In addition, the FSO will be performing the WASPS Overture by Ralph Vaughn-Williams, an avid early-20th Century collector of English folk songs. WASPS was written originally as incidental music for an Aristophanes play in 1909. The musicians will also feature the Russian composer, Aram Khachaturian. He was asked to write music for a production of the play, Masquerade being produced by the director Ruben Simonov. These tunes were then turned into a suite in 1944. The Waltz from the Suite is considered one of Khachaturian’s most popular works.
Hindemith’s Mathis der Mahler, written while the composer was still living in Germany prior to World War II in 1936. It is considered one of Hindemith’s most famous pieces and was preliminary work on an opera by the same name. The Nazi government criticized the piece as “degenerate” and “Jewish connected.” Musicologists say the opera’s plot focused on the “artist’s duty to pursue his vision irrespective of political considerations, [which] was anathema to Nazi ideology.” Hindemith emigrated to the United States in 1940, taking up a music professorship at Yale University.
In addition, the FSO will perform a portion of a symphonic poem by Liszt. At the age of fifteen, Liszt published twelve piano pieces. Twelve years later, he revised these compositions and seven years later (1840), Liszt reworked the fourth étude and titled it Mazeppa. He then created a symphonic poem from which the symphony will be performing the Cossack’s March.
The FSO will perform a Victor Lopez orchestrated version of Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ work, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Toccata is one of his most recognized works and one of the most performed classical works during Halloween. The orchestra will finish their program with a medley from John William’s Far and Away. Williams is known as one of the most popular movie score composers in the United States.
Founded by Ms. Murdock the FSO has showcased both local and national talent throughout its tenure and is operated by a local board of directors as a non-profit. Contributions may be mailed to the Fremont Symphony Orchestra at 811 Cindy Circle in Riverton, WY 82501-3040.
Concert tickets are available online and at the door for $15 per person, $30 per family, or $10 for students. Tickets may also be purchased in advance online at the FSO website. The FSO may be found on Facebook.