Winona Symphony Orchestra announces 2018-2019 season

Fall Concert
Saturday | October 6 | 7:30pm
Preconcert talk at 7:00pm
Harriet Johnson Auditorium | Somsen Hall
Winona State University

The Winona Symphony Orchestra announces its 2018-2019 season, From Minnesota with Love, featuring concerts inspired by Minnesota composers, performers, and symphonies.

The 2018-2019 season includes a Fall Concert on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018; a Children’s Concert on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019; and a Spring Concert on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Concerts will be held in the Harriet Johnson Auditorium in Somsen Hall on the Winona State University campus.

Audiences will experience American composer David Diamond’s Rounds for String Orchestra, a fiddle-inspired and high-energy piece commissioned and premiered by Dmitri Metropoulos and the Minneapolis Symphony in 1944 at the Fall Concert.  The vigor of ‘Rounds’ will be contrasted with living Minnesota composer Steve Heitzeg’s beautiful Flower of the Earth, a piece written in homage to Georgia O’Keeffe and inspired by four of her works of art.  Rounding out the program is Joseph Haydn’s 82nd Symphony, subtitled ‘The Bear.’ Written as Haydn was reaching the height of his incredible popularity, the symphony is full of wit, humor, and vivacious joy.

As part of the Symphony’s mission to share live classical music with the youth of Winona, the season also includes a free Children’s Concert for area schoolchildren. This year’s Children’s Concert presents Serge Prokofiev’s iconic Peter and the Wolf, an adventurous tale for young people brought to life by Prokofiev’s brilliant music and orchestration.  The piece features different instruments personifying characters in the story of Peter, his grandfather, the bird, the cat, the duck, and the hunters…just beware of the wolf! This concert is recommended for students in grades 2 – 5. Teachers can e-mail winonasymphony@gmail.com to reserve seats for their students. The Symphony’s Children’s Concert served over 1,100 students last year and is offered free through generous donations and grant support. Additionally, the Symphony offers free admission to the Fall and Spring Concerts for high school students with a student I.D., and elementary and middle school students are free when accompanied by a paying adult. 

The Symphony’s Spring Concert opens with Mozart’s glittering Overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Minneapolis-based mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski will join the Symphony as it performs the works of Minnesota composers Dominick Argento (Casa Guidi) and Libby Larson (Raspberry Island Dreaming). Osowski has performed on some of the world’s greatest stages, including the Musikverein in Vienna and award-winning performances in London’s Wigmore Hall and at the International Das Lied Competition in Heidelberg, Germany.  Recognized for her excellence in Minnesota, she is a recipient of the prestigious 2018-2019 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music. The Spring Concert concludes with Debussy’s popular Petite Suite.

The Symphony’s Fall and Spring Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., with pre-concert talks by Music Director Dr. Erik Rohde beginning at 7:00 p.m.  Advance tickets are available online at www.winonasymphony.org or in person at Hardt’s Music & Audio (115 East Third Street, Winona).

For additional information visit winonasymphony.org or email winonasymphony@gmail.com.  This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.

About Winona Symphony Orchestra
Winona Symphony Orchestra exists to enrich the Winona area with live performances of high quality symphonic music, to provide performing opportunities for talented area musicians, and to promote an appreciation of live classical music among young people.  The Symphony is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For additional information, visit www.winonasymphony.org.

Winona Symphony Orchestra is a member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/JOIN.