Celebrate spring with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony March 23 in Ocean View
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Julien Benichou, will perform its spring concert, Spring Vibes, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at Mariner’s Bethel Church, Ocean View.
This program will feature a performance by the winner of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra’s annual Concerto Competition which was held in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 26. Eric Rierson, a high school senior and alto saxophonist, received first place and won the opportunity to perform with the professional Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. The CYSO also plays under the direction of MSO Music Director Maestro Julien Benichou. Eric will perform the second movement of Jacques Ibert’s “Concerto Da Camera.”
Benichou will premiere his Concertino for Marimba & Orchestra, “Wolves.” The title for “Wolves” was chosen when internationally acclaimed percussionist Warren Wolf was invited to appear as a guest soloist with the MSO at this month’s concerts. An additional inspiration for the title is the dedication to the MSO of 93-year-old Lucienne Vignol Wolfe as a board member, webmaster and editor-in-chief. Thus this work honors both Warren Wolf and Lucienne Vignol Wolfe.
Wolf, world-renowned percussionist and talented multi-instrumentalist, will be showcased in this first appearance with the MSO. He will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Concerto for Violin No. 1 in A Minor,” BMV 1041 transcribed for the marimba, a musical instrumentin the percussion family. This instrument is a type of xylophone, but with broader and lower tonal range and resonators.
As a youth, Wolf attended the Peabody Preparatory of The Johns Hopkins Institute in Baltimore, Md., where he studied with former Baltimore Symphony member Leo LePage. While at Peabody, Wolf played many popular styles of music including classical, jazz and ragtime. After graduating from The Baltimore School for the Arts in spring 1997, Wolf headed north and enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., where he studied with Caribbean Jazz Project vibist Dave Samuels and eventually taught there. Wolf has played and recorded with many of the world’s best musicians, including Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Nicholas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Terri-Lyne Carrington, Bobby Watson, Roy Haynes, Danilo Perez and many others.
Continuing the MSO’s presentation of the cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies, the concert concludes with Beethoven’s cheerful “Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60,” often overlooked and the least known and performed of his nine symphonies.
This concert will also be performed at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 21, at Easton Church of God and at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 24, at Community Church, Ocean Pines, Md. A preconcert lecture takes place one hour before performances in Ocean View and Ocean Pines. Individual tickets are $36 adult, $15 student and $5 for children under 12. For tickets and information, call 1-888-846-8600 or visit www.midatlanticsymphony.org, where the ticket order form can be downloaded. The MSO website is currently undergoing a redesign and upgrade to benefit from advanced technology, so the March concert flier and program notes have not been posted. This site will be updated as soon as the new system is in place.
The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, a nonprofit organization, is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, the Worcester County Arts Council, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Sussex County Council, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, M&T Bank, BB&T Bank, PNC Bank and Choptank Electric, as well as donations from individuals, organizations and corporations.
