Northwest Symphony to perform world premiere work Jan. 31
Northwest Symphony, under the direction of Maestra Kim Diehnelt, will present a concert 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, in honor of independence: American independence, certainly, but also the independence of groundbreaking composers from formerly rigid rules of composition, allowing freer expression of emotion and a return to the principle that music must, above all, be pleasing to the ear.
The Northwest Symphony is able to present works of epic proportions, as well as more intimate music on a smaller scale. The upcoming concert takes full advantage of that flexibility.
The concert opens with a stately march by a composer of the so-called "romantic" era, Anton Bruckner. The piece will be conducted by Shade Zajac, chosen as conductor apprentice after a nationwide search. Zajac, a native of upstate New York, is a composer and cellist, as well as a conductor.
Another work from the same era, Edward Elgar's "Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra," will feature soloist Martha Cavender, who has been with playing bassoon with the symphony for three years.
A highlight of the concert is the world premiere of "Serenade," a work by the contemporary composer Jeremy Beck. Gramophone magazine states that Beck "knows the importance of embracing the past while also going his own way," his work "savoring both the dramatic and the poetic." "Serenade" was composed in Louisville in 2001.
The largest work on the program is "Symphony No. 2" by Jean Sibelius, composed during his stay in Italy, a country he loved almost as much as his native Finland. In his orchestrations, string sections are frequently divided into subsections playing different parts, resulting in rich harmonies and a lush, layered sound.
The orchestra, founded in 1951, meets weekly and numbers more than 70 musicians, ranging from students to professionals, with interests and backgrounds, ranging from financial analysts to engineers to educators to retirees.
The concert will be at Forest View Education Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road, Arlington Heights, in partnership with the D214 Community Education Program. A commentary by Diehnelt is at 2:45 p.m. Tickets are $20, $15 seniors, $10 students, free for 14 and under with an adult. They are available at the door, at www.northwestsymphony.org, or at the Forest View box office from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, (847) 718-7702. Information is at (847) 965-7271.