Fox Valley Orchestra to perform 'Passionate Mystique' Oct. 29

The Fox Valley Orchestra will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at Aurora University's beautiful Crimi Auditorium, 407 S Calumet Ave. The concert "Passionate Mystique" will be under the direction of recently appointed Maestro Brian Groner.

The orchestra will present "The Walk to the Paradise Garden" by Frederick Delius. This is a selection from a little-known opera "A Village Romeo and Juliet." A beautiful leisurely, restorative piece that elicits luxurious images of a peaceful garden setting.

The orchestra and chorus will then perform "An Oxford Elegy" by Vaughn Williams, under the direction of chorus master Lisa Fredenburgh. Inspired by two poems written in 1853 by British poet Matthew Arnold. "An Oxford Elegy" was written over 1947 to 1949 for orchestra, chorus and narrator. It is a wonderfully complex piece that will make you imagine that you are looking over the Oxford landscape. Perhaps you will even see a ghost or two. After all it is just before Halloween. "An Oxford Elegy" will feature narrator Richard Westphal, emeritus chair of the Fine Arts Division at Aurora University.

The final selection will be what is perhaps Cesar Franck's most famous orchestral work Symphony in D Minor. A serious piece fraught with tension and passion with three movements, each using a four-bar cyclic thematic style. Frank's Symphony in D Minor is taught in nearly every music appreciation class.

Tickets are available online at www.foxvalleyorchestra.org or can be purchased at the door depending on availability. For more information, call (630) 891-2526 or email tickets@foxvalleyorchestra.org.