Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra Presents Witty Winds & Boisterous Brass

CSO continues the 2020-21 Season with Witty Winds & Boisterous Brass on Nov. 14th, 2020 with performances at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, at the Cheyenne Civic Center.

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 livestreamed for those who prefer to watch from the comfort of home.

For CSO’s second Masterpiece concerts of the season, the woodwinds, brass, and percussion sections of the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra will be featured exclusively. Rarely, if ever, has the orchestra presented an entire Masterpiece program without strings, making these concerts extra special. The qualities of the winds, brass, and percussion include kaleidoscopic colors and timbres as well as great dynamic range; some music feels very intimate while other pieces will “blow the roof off” the Civic Center!

Because the orchestra needs to be socially distanced on stage, CSO has programmed concerts with smaller orchestras this year. “Yet the pandemic is a great excuse and reason to focus on the wide, varied repertoire for winds, brass, and percussion,” explained William Intriligator, CSO Music Director and Conductor.

“For example, the pieces on these concerts represent music from the 1500’s through the 2000’s, and from composers of wide styles and nationalities. I’m thrilled that one program can present American composers, as well as French, Italian, German, and British. I’m also excited to present a work by a living, African-American female composer. What ties all these styles, nationalists, and time-periods together is the focus on winds, brass, and percussion. I think audiences are going to love this unique concert!”

Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man has always been beloved by audiences, and will have a very special, even deeper meaning now during these difficult times. In fact, it was born during difficult times, when America was entering World War II, and it speaks to strength, perseverance, and determination. By contrast, Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, which ends the program, was written to celebrate peace at the end of a war. CSO will perform the stately, thrilling overture to this music, and this piece represents the one time in the concert that all the players will play together. The pieces in between these bookends, by Gabrieli, Holst, Mendelssohn and Guonod, focus either on the brass or on the woodwinds.

“I want to make special mention of the piece by Allison Loggins-Hull, a living composer based in New York,” says Intriligator. “Her Hammers for flute and percussion on these concerts was inspired by the sounds of a construction site near the composer’s apartment, and it will be a great feature for CSO Principal Flute, Ysmael Reyes.”

The Classic Conversations educational seminar that precedes each concert will be livestreamed 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. Media interviews with Maestro Intriligator can be arranged by calling Lindsey Reynolds at 778-8561.