Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra photos by Shacklett’s Photography
The new season of the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra holds great promise, with offerings ranging from traditional orchestral pieces to Symphony firsts like a coffee-infused concert series and its Family Concert Series, which debuts Nov. 2.
According to symphony leaders, the new Family Series hopes to engage children with “the magical world of the symphony orchestra.”
The new series will begin with the Spanish-named Concierto Para Las Familias Latinas, giving thanks for the cultural contributions from the Latin community.
The final program of this new series, the Fourth Annual Family Concert, will be performed at First United Methodist Church on March 14, 2015. This program will feature members of the Murfreesboro Youth Orchestra alongside the MSO, accompanied by the winner of the Emerging Artist competition. In addition, the Siegel Foundation/MSO Musical Excellence Awards will be held on this night to recognize the highest-caliber city and county school music students. Both shows are free, all in the name of educating the youth.
Next up on the seasonal schedule will be a tribute to the country’s veterans. The concert, A Salute to Our Veterans: Love and War Through Music and Letters, will be held on Nov. 7 at First United Methodist on W. Thompson Lane beginning at 7:30 p.m.
“We do [this concert] in conjunction with the church. The church has a veteran’s dinner that precedes the concert,” stated Symphony Board President Phil Barnett. This should ensure a full stomach before enjoying a time of war interpreted through the “stirring music” of composers such as Glenn Miller and Malcolm Arnold.
The MSO mascot
On Dec. 18, also at First United Methodist, the symphony will offer its traditional holiday musical The Sounds of Christmas, featuring the Murfreesboro Symphony Chorus. During the concert, there is a portion where the audience is encouraged to sing along. This portion, said Barnett, brings out “Rutherford County’s talented and not-so-talented [singers].” But, in the end, he noted with a chuckle, “everybody sings.” This holiday presentation has sold out in previous years.
On Feb. 8, 2 p.m., the symphony offers its second concert in the Java Series, which began in early October. Tickets for the Java Series, held at the Center for the Arts, will be limited to around 120 to provide an intimate listening experience. The concert is titled A Sunday Afternoon Serenade.
A month later, We Will Rock You: The Music of Queen, a classic rock-meets-classical performance paying homage to the great British band, will be held March 12, 7:30 p.m., at World Outreach Church.
The Symphony’s performance will be augmented by guest performers Blue Jeans & Classics. With this guest appearance, the MSO hopes to “bring Freddie Mercury’s Queen to Middle Tennessee.”
The final performance of the 2014–15 subscription series is scheduled for April 16, 2015, at 7:30 p.m at FUM. To begin the night, Murfreesboro native and musical guest Nicholas Zumbro will perform the “Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16” by Edvard Grieg. Other selections will be performed throughout the night, including “Intermezzo” from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.” The finale (for which the season-ending concert is named) will be Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” described as “[an] epic orchestral warhorse.”
This schedule would not be possible without the phenomenal group of musicians that make up the MSO.
Conducting the MSO is Maestro Joseph Lee, who is also the the Resident Conductor of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Huntsville Youth Orchestra, and Artistic Advisor of the Orquesta Manuel Maria Gutierrez. Interestingly enough, Lee’s position as Artistic Advisor of the Orquesta Manuel Maria Gutierrez is located in the United States commonwealth of Costa Rica. Another recent notable event in Lee’s career was being invited back to his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, in the spring of 2011. While there, he served a one-semester appointment as an Adjunct Assistant of Orchestra and Conducting at the prestigious Blair School of Music. Lee has directed the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra since September of 2010.
About 60 to 70 musicians make up the base of the MSO. An additional 20 to 30 musicians are added to this base number, depending on the piece of music performed, Barnett noted. The nucleus of musicians come mainly from the Southeast, with players from Alabama, Kentucky and in Tennessee from Nashville, Knoxville, Cannon County and Murfreesboro.
For more on the MSO, visit murfreesborosymphony.com.
