KSU Orchestra Presents First Subscription Series Performance of the Year

The Kent State University Hugh A. Glauser School of Music's Orchestra will begin its 2012-13 Subscription Series with its performance on Sunday, Oct. 14, in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall at 3:30 p.m. Cartwright Hall is located at 650 Hilltop Drive, with free parking located off of Terrace Drive.

Led by Orchestra Director Liza Grossman, the performance's program will reflect a diverse timeline with compositions from the 1940s to today.

First, the Orchestra will perform "Internet Symphony: Eroica" by Grammy Award-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun. Google and YouTube originally commissioned the piece for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. The piece premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2009 while being broadcasted live on YouTube.

Second, "Tuba Concerto," a piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams, will introduce audiences to new music instructor and KSU alumnus John DiCesare. Vaughan Williams composed this work in 1954, four years before his passing. Though "Tuba Concerto" did not initially receive a positive public response, it soon became one of Vaughan Williams' most popular works and an essential part of the tuba repertoire for professionals.

The first Orchestra Subscription Series performance will also feature "Gayaneh Ballet," a four-act ballet written by Aram Khachaturian. This piece was first performed in 1942 with the Kirov Ballet. The original plot featured a young woman struggling to balance patriotic convictions and personal feelings. The story has been modified several times, resulting in a plot not much more focused on romance than nationalism. The Orchestra will be performing the First Suite, which includes the very popular Sabre Dance.

Grossman said audience members will be able to see the KSU Orchestra members' energy, passion and commitment to music throughout the performance.

"One of our missions as musicians and performers is to give our audiences an experience to feel something: a memory, an emotion, a new thought or a reminder of a previous experience they may have had with a piece of music," Grossman said. "Live music is an incredible thing to have available to us, and to have the opportunity to support and encourage the professional musicians of the future is ensuring just that: the future of orchestra music."

Tickets for the performance are $10 for adults, $5 for students with valid ID and free for all full-time undergraduate students. Tickets are available weekdays 12 to 5 p.m. at the performing arts box office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Drive on the campus of Kent State University. The Cartwright Hall box office will open one hour prior to the performance for walk up sales, and will also accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Tickets and more information are also available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787).

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For more information contact:
Effie A. Tsengas, etsengas@kent.edu, 330-672-8398