The Garland Symphony will continue its Symphonic Kaleidoscope season Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Brownlee Auditorium at the Granville Arts Center.
The concert will feature violinist, Kiarra Saito-Beckman from Bend, Oregon. A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award from the NPR program “From the Top,” she is currently in her senior year at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is a prize-winner in the 2017 Cooper International Violin Competition, the 2015 National Music Teachers National Association Senior Strings Competition and was named the 2014 PepsiCo National Young Artist of the Year as the first-prize winner of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s National Young Artist Competition in South Carolina.
Kiarra will be performing the Chaconne from “The Red Violin” by American composer John Corigliano. According to Corigliano:
“The Red Violin: Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra draws upon music I composed for the film of the same name. The film spans three centuries in the life of a magnificent but haunted violin in its travels through space and time. A story this episodic needed to be tied together with a single musical idea. For this purpose I used the Baroque device of a chaconne: a repeated pattern of chords upon which the music is built. Against the chaconne chords I juxtaposed Anna’s theme, a lyrical yet intense melody representing the violin builder’s doomed wife. From these elements I wove a series of virtuosic etudes for the solo violin, which followed the instrument from country to country, century to century.”
Corigliano’s original movie soundtrack won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Soundtrack.
The second half of the program features Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Along with his Fourth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fifth has become a very popular and frequently-performed work in the orchestra repertoire. Ironically, Tchaikovsky said of the work, “I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure.” Modern audiences would respectfully disagree, embracing the beautiful melodies and triumphant finale.
In addition, the GSO will be performing Saint-Saens’ Overture to The Yellow Princess.
This concert also features guest conductor Juan Carlos Lomónaco of Mexico. Maestro Lomónaco is in his 14th season as music director of the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra in Mérida, Mexico. Maestro Lomónaco attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1996. From 1997 until 1999, he served as assistant conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. Appointed music director of the National Conservatory Orchestra in 1999, he added the post of music director of the Carlos Chavez Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City the following year. Since then, he has led orchestras throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States.
Garland Symphony Orchestra credits Music Director Robert Carter Austin for its continued outstanding and diverse orchestral programming. His background encompasses over 30 years of professional music experience and includes degrees from MIT, Cambridge University and Stanford University. Austin’s musical experience includes conducting performances in many countries including: Korea, Ukraine, Canada, Italy, Spain, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Colombia, Philippines, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and the United States.
Season tickets are available for as low as $61. Single tickets are $17.50, $27.50 and $37.50. Purchase by calling 972-926-0611, faxing 972-926-0811) or emailing info@garlandsymphony.org. Group discounts are available. Call GSO (972-926-0611.
The Granville Arts Center is at 300 North Fifth Street in downtown Garland. For more information, visit www.garlandsymphony.org.