Pines of Rome

Acclaimed pianist Brian Woods will join the orchestra to perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.” Widely accepted as one of the greatest works in the piano repertoire, this music has been described as an “epic work of genius” and a “towering piano masterpiece” by Classic FM digital radio.

Celebrated for his stunning musicianship and dazzling stage presence, Brian Woods has emerged as a rising star of international acclaim. A native of St. Louis, Woods has enjoyed success in numerous competitions, including the Verona International Piano Competition, The American Prize, and the Artist Presentation Society Auditions.

The symphony orchestra will also perform Respighi’s “Pines of Rome”, a thrilling homage to the Eternal City. The music presents four impressions that capture the imagination including children at play, the somber catacombs and the nocturnal serenity of the Janiculum, Rome’s beautiful hilltop park. Here nightingales serenade the audience, one of the first examples of added recorded sounds to an orchestra performance.  For the final movement, “Pines of the Appian Way,” Respighi employs his favorite format for closing:  beginning quietly and slowly expanding to an imposing crescendo. As the music unfolds, the composer adds more layers, including extra brass instruments, to achieve a thunderous conclusion in true surround sound!

The QSOA has been at the forefront of championing new music each season.  That innovation continues with Roger Zare’s new overture commemorating the organization’s 75^th Anniversary. “Luminous Synchrony” recalls the way the dark Illinois landscape comes alive in a strange way, with hundreds of blinking red lights. These lights on the wind turbines blink in synchrony across many miles of fields to warn pilots that there are towering obstacles below. Zare found it mesmerizing to see such a large group of otherwise invisible objects connected by the synchrony of light, gradually moving together across the horizon as he drove by.

The $1,000 Grand Prize Drawing for the annual QSOA Raffle will be held after the concert’s intermission. Raffle proceeds support the orchestra, chorus, youth orchestra, and youth chorus, as well as annual in-school symphony concerts for thousands of children. The grand prize, the 2nd prize of a Symphony Getaway Package, and the 3rd prize of two QSOA season tickets will be awarded. Raffle tickets are $10 each or 12 for $100 and may be purchased at the concert, in advance from any orchestra, chorus, Encore! or Symphony Board member. The raffle is sponsored by HomeBank and Southern Air.

Tickets are $15 for seniors and $18 for other adults. Thanks in part to support from the Tracy Family Foundation and the Community Foundation, children 18 and under are admitted free to all QSO concerts.