CSO continues the 2020-21 Season with Capricious Classics.
When: Saturday, February 27, 2021 Time: 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Where: Cheyenne Civic Center Tickets: On sale now for $12-$47
Social distancing measures will be in place and patrons will be required to wear masks, in compliance with the Laramie County mask mandate. The concerts will be performed without intermission and last about 90 minutes. The 7:30 PM performance will also be live-streamed for those who prefer to watch from the comfort of home.
This concert will begin with a wonderful burst of energy in the form of living composer Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst for string orchestra. Montgomery composed Starburst for the Sphinx Organization, which helps the careers of Black and Latinx classical musicians. She literally felt that the string orchestra was full of future “stars” of classical music and that their careers would be “bursting” forth soon, so she called this exciting piece Starburst. This piece was also selected as the inspiration for CSO’s annual Art in Music program. Hundreds of 7th-12th grade art students in LCSD #1 have listened to Starburst and brought this piece to life through their artwork. Patrons will have the opportunity to enjoy the student’s art via a digital slideshow projected on the stage wall before the concert, and on CSO’s website. To give the audience a taste of the student’s creative process, patrons will again watch a slideshow of the winning submissions as the orchestra performs this piece live. We are excited to share this new experience with our patrons – there is nothing like seeing and hearing both art forms together!
The February concerts will also feature an audience-favorite, Symphony No. 40 by Mozart. This masterpiece was composed during the summer of 1788 and displays intensity, passion, and an emotional tone that is unlike so much of Mozart’s lighter, more gallant and effervescent works. Yet, this is still Mozart; for all its passion and drama, it is still full of grace, elegance, and 18th-century refinement. CSO Music Director and Conductor, William Intriligator explains, “I feel like, when one hears this piece, we’re seeing and hearing Mozart without the public mask on; we’re experiencing a more direct musical honesty reflecting the personal, financial, and political troubles he was facing at the time.”
Finally, CSO will perform music by one of Mozart’s contemporaries: Franz Krommer. Not a household name, yet a very talented and prolific composer who attained quite a lot of success in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during his day. He was a great composer for woodwind instruments, writing many concertos for clarinet, flute, and oboe. Kellan Toohey, CSO clarinetist, and Anton Rist, Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in NYC, will be the featured guest artists performing Krommer’s Second Concerto for Two Clarinets in E-flat. “I have to admit that this piece—and even this composer—was unknown to me when our CSO clarinetist Kellan Toohey brought this piece to me for consideration,” Intriligator added. “I was intrigued and listened to the music and think it’s a charming piece!”
The Classic Conversations educational seminar that precedes each concert will be live-streamed on the CSO Facebook page on the Friday prior to the concert at noon and made available on the CSO website for on-demand viewing.
Call 778-8561 or visit cheyennesymphony.org
Media interviews with Maestro Intriligator and guest artists can be arranged by calling Lindsey Reynolds at 307-778-8561.
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