Northwest Symphony Orchestra welcomes young soloist
The Northwest Symphony Orchestra will present the second concert of the 2019-20 season at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, in the Theater for the Performing Arts at Forestview Education Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road in Arlington Heights.
Maestro Timothy Semanik will lead the orchestra in a performance of two works, the Violin Concerto by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978), performed by soloist Claire Metcalf, and Symphony No. 1 by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), the most established composer of Finnish heritage.
Soloist Claire Metcalf, 15, appears with the Northwest Symphony as the winner of the Paul Vermel Young Artist Award, an annual competition established in honor of the former music director of the Northwest Symphony.
Other successful competition results for Metcalf include prizes and recognition from the Chinese Fine Arts Society in Honor of Confucius, the American Music Institute, the Sejong Cultural Society, Honorable Mentions in the CYSO Concerto Competition, the International Walgreens Concerto Competition, and the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers.
She was also selected as one of the 2019-2020 Young Steinway Musicians, and presented a recital in January of 2020 as part of the Young Steinway Concert Series.
The Khachaturian Violin Concerto is a popular masterpiece and is one of several works by renowned East European composers whose earliest exposure to music was with the folk music of their native countries.
Sibelius wrote his Symphony No. 1, in part, as a musical response to Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony, which had been performed in Helsinki in 1894 and again in 1897. By the autumn of 1898, Sibelius was totally absorbed in the work at a time of great political tension in Finland and of personal concern as well.
The dark angst of the composer's mood is apparent in the tone of the piece, but presented in a manner that exudes the beauty of his craft.
Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors 65 and older, and $10 for students with ID. Children younger than 14 are admitted free with a paying adult. Patrons may purchase tickets at the door on the day of the concert using cash, checks or credit cards.
Tickets are also available online at www.northwestsymphony.org, as well as by phone, (847) 965-7271.