Swan Maidens to Dance Prior to Eugene Symphony Concert

The Eugene Symphony is always looking for innovative ways to bring music to more people! Next week, we're partnering with the Eugene Ballet to present an historical overview of Tchaikovsky’s luminous ballet, Swan Lake. The talk includes a slide presentation as well as a short performance of the Dance of the Cygnets (Little Swans). Toni Pimble, artistic director of the Eugene Ballet, will give the presentation. Four ballerinas in full costume—Emma McGirr, Suzanne Haag, Victoria Harvey, and Sara Stockwell—will perform.

 

The free event, part of the Symphony's Sound Perspectives series, begins at 7 p.m. in The Studio of the Hult Center. One hour later, the Eugene Symphony concert, Swan Lake, features Tchaikovsky’s Suite from this iconic work. 

Much fun was had during concert week activities!

Our concert week activities began with an outstanding vocal master class with Christine Brewer for University of Oregon music majors! Each participant, including Alishia Piper, Tori Helppie, Emily Hopkins, and Katherine Curtis, gave a lovely performance and it was amazing to hear their artistic interpretations become refined during their short time working with Ms. Brewer. Thank you to Laura Avery for sponsoring the Laura Avery Visiting Masters program!

Pictured above: Milagro Vargas, Christine Brewer, Katherine Curtis, Emily Hopkins, Karen Esquivel, Alishia Piper, Laura Avery, Tori Helppie, and Eric Mentzel.

 

 

On Wednesday, Christine Brewer joined Maestro Rachev for our Guild Concert Preview to discuss Strauss's Four Last Songs. Excitement grew among our audience members as they learned more about the beautiful piece and Ms. Brewer's interpretation of it. Maestro Rachev concluded the preview with an enlightening discussion about Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

 

 

Our final concert week activity featured a waltz lesson, given by Linda and Edward Staver of Staver DanceSport, to educate audience members about that night's performance of Ravel's La valse. Needless to say, we all had a great time! Thank you, Linda and Edward! Part of the Sound Perspectives series.

 

New education programs are off to a great start!

The Eugene Symphony Education Department's two pilot programs for the 2012-13 season began with a bang past week!

Volunteers helped kick off Symphonic Adventures, an in-school music program for third grade classrooms, by teaching our professionally designed lesson plans to eager students in the 4J, Bethel, and Springfield school districts. Below you'll see our fabulous volunteer, Diane Livermore, teaching rhythm at Howard Elementary.

Each lesson plan is followed by a performance by a Eugene Symphony musician or chamber group. This month's featured musician is percussionist Brian Scott, who is featured in a video at the beginning and end of each lesson. We have received overwhelmingly positive responses about Brian and the students feel like they're meeting a celebrity!


Link Up, a program designed by Carnegie Hall, also began this past week with Annalisa Morton and Kristen Halay teaching third through fifth graders in 4J and Springfield afterschool programs. In collaboration with Willamalane Parks and Recreation Center and 4J's BEST program, students in Chavez, River Road, Thurston, and Page Elementary Schools are learning how to play recorder and will perform on-stage with the Eugene Symphony for our November 13 & 14 youth concerts. What an opportunity!

 

Kristen Halay teaching Link Up to River Road Elementary School students.

 

 



Dun, dun, dun, dunnnnn!

A regular on the world’s greatest concert and opera stages, Metropolitan Opera star Christine Brewer joins the Eugene Symphony on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 8 p.m. at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Music Director Danail Rachev conducts Brewer in a program that also includes Ravel’s La valse and a work known and loved the world over, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

 

A global star with a reputation as a “superlative Strauss singer” (The New York Times), Brewer’s range, golden tone, boundless power and control make her a favorite of the stage as well as a sought-after recording artist. With a vocal technique once described “as refreshingly unfussy as her personality” (The Financial Times), Brewer breaks the mold of the traditional opera diva in countless ways. She freely admits to fibbing about her fried chicken, tearing up during Toy Story 3, hosting a boisterous, annual Hootenanny in her small-town Illinois backyard each summer, and entertaining dreams of running for the Senate.

On October 18, Brewer performs Four Last Songs, Strauss’s musical epitaph, which premiered a year after the composer’s death. Three of the songs are based on Herman Hesse poems and set in a mini-cycle from spring to autumn and on to sleep (the initial work opens at twilight).  Though the soaring melodies ruminate on parting and death—Strauss was 83 when he composed the works—the full orchestra’s accompaniment infuses the work with a profound serenity.

The evening concludes with Beethoven's powerful Symphony No. 5. With its universally recognized opening four notes, the work has endured as one of the world's most popular pieces of music since its Vienna premiere (conducted by the composer himself) in 1808.

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 is sponsored by Hilton Eugene and Conference Center.   Tickets are available through the Hult Center box office (541-682-5000) or online at eugenesymphony.org.

Rhapsody in Blue... in Photos!

Last night's Rhapsody in Blue concert, in my opinion, was phenomenal. There was such an electric energy in the hall! The lobby was very full and bustling a full 40 minutes before the concert. Wonderful!

Aren't the new lights in the Hult Center Lobby gorgeous?

Here's what a difference ten minutes can make...

Before the doors open:

After the doors open (facing the opposite direction):

 And a few minutes later, the concert began!

After Eugene Symphony Association Board President Dunny Sorensen gave some opening remarks (thank you Dunny-- you were great!), the concert kicked into full gear with an Opening Night tradition: The Orchestra playing the Star Spangled Banner!  The crowd jumped to their feet and SANG VERY LOUDLY! Truly, the volume of the crowd was quite spectacular-- Who wants to try out for chorus membership?

After the next piece, Bernstein's Overture to Candide, pianist Jon Nakamatsu took the stage. He and the Eugene Symphony amazed the crowd with the Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major. Phenomenal and beautiful!

After intermission, Jon Nakamatsu returned to the piano with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue!  Michael Anderson, Eugene Symphony's Principal Clarinet, worked wonders with his instrument in the piece. Well done, Michael! You were brilliant!

Within seconds after the last note in Rhapsody in Blue, the crowd stood up and there was thunderous applause (and lots of whooping, hollers, and whistles!). Our audience is so fabulous. Jon Nakamatsu commented on the power of the audience response-- he was quite impressed with our wonderful patrons!

It's not a great photo because the lights were still dim, but you can see-- everyone was standing!!

After the piano was removed, the Symphony played a lesser-known piece: De Falla's Suite from The Three-Cornered Hat. Music Director and Conductor Danail Rachev awed the crowd with a boisterous and charming background about the ballet of The Three-Cornered Hat. When we get the copy of last night's concert, we'll have to transcribe that history and post it here-- I'd argue it was one of the  most memorable and wonderful pieces a conductor has ever discussed on our stage!  The piece itself was stunning, going from flamenco-like pieces to teasing interludes. Very well done, and you could tell our orchestra was excited to play the piece.

After the concert, Jon Nakamatsu signed CDs out in the lobby. Thank you to all who stopped to say hello and/or to get his autograph. He was really quite taken with our hall, patrons, and enthusiasm, as you can tell in this photo (!!):

Thank you, Jon Nakamatsu! Come back soon!

As for the rest of you, we hope you come back soon and see us TOMORROW, Saturday 22, 2012, for An Evening with John Williams! More information on that EXCITING concert can be found by clicking HERE. 

And remember: October's concert isn't that far off!! Thank you for a great night, Eugene!

- Jessika Kaiser, Marketing Manager, Eugene Symphony Association

More Hult Lighting Photos -- Testing them out for Opening Night!

You've liked the post on the Hult Center lighting project, so here are new photos!

With the Rhapsody in Blue concert tonight, the new lights in the lobby were tested out last night in anticipation of our big OPENING NIGHT tonight.

I think they look pretty good. Come see them in person TONIGHT! Rhapsody in Blue tickets are still available, and it looks to be a very popular, spectacular night out!

 

Free Pre-Concert Lecture for Rhapsody in Blue: Thursday, Sept 22, 7 pm

Free PRE-CONCERT LECTURE, 7:00 pm, The Studio in the Hult Center:

An hour before Thursday's Rhapsody in Blue concert (September 20, 2012), there will be a pre-concert lecture down in the Studio of the Hult Center as part of our Sound Perspectives series. Cost: FREE to all.

Andrew Porkorny will deliver a half hour talk on Ravel and Gershwin. The talk will discuss the compositional similarities between Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major. 

Andrew Porkorny is a PhD candidate in music theory at the University of Oregon, where he has also studied jazz piano. He previously studied music theory at the University of Minnesota and jazz piano at Webster University in St. Louis. He has taught and assisted numerous classes in music theory, ear training, and analysis at the University of Minnesota and the University of Oregon, including a recent class on the music of Maurice Ravel.

The Eugene Symphony is pleased to present the Sound Perspective series before each of their series concerts. There will not be a Sound Perspectives talk before the John Williams and Cirque de Noel concerts.

Hult New Lighting Project -- Construction Photos!

These days, the Hult Center is going through a major lighting project (an article on the project by Bob Keefer at The Register-Guard can be found HERE).

The project has been kept under wraps for public safety, but we're thrilled to be able to give you a few sneak peeks on how the lobby has been transformed:

Since August 13, patrons have been accessing the box office via the Jacobs Gallery, and large partitions block public access to the main lobby, so these photos offer a private view of the project in progress.

The scaffolding will be removed and the lights unveiled at our Rhapsody in Blue concert this Thursday, September 20, 2012, as well as at the An Evening with John Williams special concert this Saturday, September 22, 2012. The lights will be adjusted after the John Williams concert to maximize their impact, so the scaffolding might return for a little while. Regardless, Eugene Symphony patrons this fall will definitely see a big difference once the Hult Center lighting project is complete! Very exciting times!

John Williams-- September 22, 2012

The Eugene Symphony is ecstatic to present An Evening with John Williams! Living legend John Williams, film composer for movies such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Superman will be in Eugene for ONE NIGHT ONLY CONCERT: September 22, 2012

This is truly, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tickets are on sale now-- a few are left!!-- at the Hult Center box office. Call 541-682-5000 or visit eugenesymphony.org. The box office is open Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 pm, and Saturdays 11-3 pm. The box office also opens one hour prior to concerts.

More information on the John Williams appearance can be found in our press release, which is available HERE. 

We'll see you at the Hult Center!

Rhapsody in Blue- September 20, 2012

The Eugene Symphony is thrilled to present their Opening Night concert: 

Rhapsody in Blue

This concert will feature world-renowned pianist Jon Nakamatsu:

More information on Mr. Nakamatsu and his unusual rise to fame is available in our press room, which can be found HERE. In addition to the famous Rhapsody in Blue by Bernstein, Mr. Nakamatsu will also be playing Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major. The concert also features Bernstein's Overture to Candide and De Falla's Suite from The Three-Cornered Hat.

This concert and Mr. Nakamatsu were featured in a recent article by Bob Keefer in The Register-Guard. The article can be found HERE.

Tickets to this popular concert are still available by calling the box office at 541-682-5000 or visiting eugenesymphony.org. The box office is open Tuesday - Friday, noon - 5 pm and Saturday, 11-3 pm. The box office is also open one hour before performances.

We'll see you at the Hult Center!

 

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog of the Eugene Symphony. We're located in Eugene, Oregon, 110 miles south of Portland and about 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean. We're current in our 47th Season, and pride ourselves on bringing excellent musicians and music to Oregon.

We'll be updating this blog with lots of information, photos and events, so please, stay tuned!