Oct. 19, 2023
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
MATT WINARSKI, manager for instrumental ensembles
mwinarsk@cord.edu
CANDACE HARMON, media relations
charmon1@cord.edu
Concordia Orchestra to perform on tour of Minnesota, North Dakota
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Concordia Orchestra from Concordia College will present the following concerts on its 2023 tour:
- Detroit Lakes: 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, Historic Holmes Theatre
- Bismarck, North Dakota: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, Bismarck High School Auditorium
- Williston, North Dakota: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, Williston High School PAC
- Minot, North Dakota: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, Magic City Campus, Minot High School Theater
- Moorhead: 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, Memorial Auditorium, Concordia College
The program includes pieces by Maria Grenfell, Rebecca Clarke and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, as well as Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme “Enigma,” Op. 36 — an entertaining series of musical character sketches imbued with a still-unsolved musical mystery.
The tour also features “to face the wind,” written by Dr. Steven Makela, assistant professor of music theory and composition at Concordia, a piece based on four Chinese poems by Wang Wei and inspired by the haunting flight patterns of starlings called “murmurations.” During the piece, the conductor interprets portions of Jan van IJken’s “Flight of the Starlings” to the orchestra through gestures related to the flight patterns, as the video is projected for the audience to see. In turn, the orchestra is given instructions on how to respond to the gestures as well as freedom to explore how they fit into the larger ensemble, creating orchestral murmurations.
Soloists include Dr. Anne Jennifer Nash, a light-lyric soprano and associate professor of voice at Concordia, and Thomas Bandar, a visiting instructor of viola and violin at Concordia.
One of the college’s most distinctive performing groups, The Concordia Orchestra is an outstanding 80-member symphony orchestra that has earned national and international acclaim, including the prestigious American Prize as well as two Emmys.
Concordia College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offering more than 120 areas of study, including 13 preprofessional programs. For more information, visit ConcordiaCollege.edu.
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Photo Caption: Dr. Kevin F.E. Sütterlin, director of orchestral activities and opera and associate professor of conducting, conducts The Concordia Orchestra during a performance.
More information about The Concordia Orchestra: https://www.concordiacollege.edu/student-life/music-ensembles/orchestras/the-concordia-orchestra/
Video of The Concordia Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/@theconcordiaorchestra6956
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