Winona Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert
The final concert of the Winona Symphony Orchestra’s 2015-2016 season will be presented on May 1st at 4:30pm in the Vivian Fusillo Auditorium, Performing Arts Center on the Winona State University campus. Attendees are invited to arrive early for the pre-concert talk at 4pm, presented by Music Director Dr. Donald Lovejoy. A reception will follow the concert in the lobby. Tickets for the concert are $15 for adults, $6 for students, and school aged students may attend for free when accompanied by a paying adult or upon presentation of their high school ID. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Hardt’s Music Store (115 E. 3rd St.) or online at winonasymphony.org. They may also be purchased at the door prior to the performance.
The concert will open with Peter Warlock’s (1894-1930) “Capriol Suite”, a set of dances for string orchestra composed in 1926. This is considered one of the composer’s most popular works.
Next on the program will be Dmitri Shostakovich’s (1906-1975) “Concerto for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings” (1933), which broke new compositional grounds through his use of musical quotations from other classical works and folk melodies. Two soloists will be featured on the “Concerto”.
Dr. Eric Brisson, an Associate Professor of Music at WSU, is a very popular piano soloist and accompanist. Dr. Brisson began his musical career in Canada and completed his education there. He moved to Winona in 2002 and in addition to performing with the Winona Symphony Orchestra, he has been a soloist with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble of WSU and Chamber Music Winona. He is also the organist at Wesley United Methodist Church.
Dr. John Cord joins the WSO for the first time as a guest trumpet soloist. He is the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Luther College and his diverse performance career has included appearances with over thirty professional symphony orchestras throughout the United States.
The concert will close with Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s (1876-1948) “Serenade for Strings”, a work that sets an atypically positive mood by this Italian composer. This piece was composed circa 1896 and is thought to be his earliest serious composition.
This concert marks the end of an extraordinary season for the Winona Symphony Orchestra, which brought back the presentation of a free Children’s Concert in February of this year. The support of major donors, area businesses, and individuals has made this season possible. The major donors for the 2015-16 season are the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, the Winona Community Foundation, Winona State University, SEMAC, Merchants Bank, and Miller Scrap. A complete list of donors along with more information about the history of the WSO is available on the website: winonasymphony.org.