The Monroe Symphony Orchestra is presenting "Mozart in Monroe" Saturday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Brown Auditorium on the ULM campus. The concert showcases three of Mozart's greatest and most well-known works.
The concert begins with Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, or "A Little Night Music," one of Mozart's most recognizable pieces. According to Monroe Symphony Orchestra Maestro Clay Couturiaux, Mozart wrote the work as a dinner piece, but it became one of the most popular pieces he ever composed. Horn Concerto No. 3 features the MSO principal hornist Dr. James Boldin. "We like to show off our own," says Courturiaux.
After a short intermission, the concert finishes with Mozart's Symphony No. 41, also nicknamed the Jupiter symphony. Maestro Couturiaux describes the piece sounding like four songs put together that still make sense. The piece was nicknamed Jupiter by a famous musician in Mozart's time for its bombastic sound.
The Monroe Symphony is also announcing their next season, which features a line-up of both classical and new music. The first performance, "Bravo Bernstein!" commemorates the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with selections from West Side Story. MSO also welcomes violinist Melissa White with showpieces of Saint-Saëns.
Mandy Harvey, an award-winning singer, songwriter and motivational speaker is performing jazz for "Valentine Pops." Harvey lost her hearing in high school but didn't lose her passion for music. She finished fourth on America's Got Talent in 2017 and was Simon Cowell's "golden ticket" selection.
Cellist Eugene Osadchy, hailed for having "the most refined and balanced string playing" by the New York Times, performs American composer Clare Fischer's Suite for Cello and Orchestra. In addition, the MSO performs Ravel's nostalgic music from the fairy tales of Mother Goose, Stravinsky's delightful Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra, and Haydn's Symphony No. 60 in C Major “Il Distratto."
The musical tragedy and triumph of the stirring Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, composed under the brutal oppression of the Soviet Union is being played by pianist Joseph Kingma, winner of the Marjorie Strickland Emerging Artist competition with the dazzling Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16.
"Mozart in Monroe" is Saturday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Brown Auditorium on the ULM campus. Tickets and more information are available here or at the door.
