Centenary Youth Orchestra plans March 17 concert
SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary Youth Orchestra (CYO) will present its Spring Concert on Sunday, March 17, at 3:00 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium at Centenary’s Hurley School of Music. The concert is free and open to the public.
"The focus of this concert is on orchestra brilliance,” says CYO conductor Dan Santelices. “There are a lot of big endings that I know the audience will get excited about. We will also take the time to also honor and recognize a number of our CYO high school and Centenary College seniors who will be graduating."
Heading the concert will be Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94, otherwise known as the "Surprise Symphony." The famous theme and variations 2nd movement, as well as the rustic-sounding Minuetto and Trio 3rd movement, will be performed. Legend has it "Papa Haydn," who was known to be a musical prankster like his young contemporary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, knew that his royal patrons would be expecting a customary slow sublime movement. However, a sudden and dramatic forte chord interrupts the otherwise simple, innocent opening theme. Haydn artfully takes this child-like theme through a series of evolving variations including changes of key and florid woodwind writing.
The program includes American Salute by American composer Morton Gould and is based on the patriotic tune "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." The piece was composed in 1943 as a morale booster for the country during World War II.
"This piece is one of my own personal favorites because I first played this in my own youth orchestra" says Santelices.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Egmont Overture will also be performed. This orchestral standard is from incidental music composed for Goethe's 1787 play of the same name. The piece is a musical portrayal of the trial and subsequent execution of Count Egmont of the Netherlands during the Spanish Inquisition. Dynamic extremes and a heroic ending have made this piece one of the CYO's favorites.
The concert continues with the Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach, an operetta based on Greek mythology. The multi-section composition spotlights fine orchestral solos from Centenary freshmen and co-concertmaster Corey Bowe from Bossier City who will be performing on a Giuseppe Ornati violin recently donated by 1952 Centenary alum, Jack Poche. Other featured orchestra soloists include Centenary sophomore cellist Nathan Lim from Shreveport, Centenary sophomore flutist Veronica Jimenez-Bravo from Bogalusa, Louisiana, Caddo Magnet High School sophomore oboist Hannah Hobson and Benton High School sophomore clarinetist Katie Hinton. The piece begins with a fanfare, proceeds into a love song, moves into a waltz and ends with the bristling, highly-recognizable Can-Can.
Leroy Anderson's frolicking and virtuosic Bugler's Holiday will feature the CYO's brilliant trumpet section. The musicians are all graduating high school seniors and include Parkway High School's Isaac Kent and Noah Rampmaier, and Gage Ellis from Pine Tree High School in Longview, Texas. Kent and Rampmaier are private students of Centenary College faculty member Michael Scarlato. Ellis is a private pupil of Dr. Richard Holsombeck.
The final selection of the concert will be Star Wars Medley, which is both a nod to the CYO members’ love for the Star Wars genre and another opportunity to showcase the group’s stellar brass section. This arrangement of John Williams' music by James Burford includes the opening music and Princess Leia's Love Theme.
After this concert CYO will shift focus to the Summer Chamber Music Program to be held from June 3 through 6. This summer music camp experience offers instruction for students 6 to 60 years old desiring to perform in small groups and culminates in a performance at the end of camp. Classes in Music Theory and Fiddle Faddle, a group experience combining movement with folk songs, are also offered.
CYO Auditions for the 2019-2020 school year will be held in late August/early September in conjunction with a Centenary College Large Ensemble Open House. For more information about the open house and CYO auditions, please contact Dan Santelices at dsantelices@centenary.edu or the Hurley School of Music office at 318.869.5235.