Welcome to Global Discoveries! The 2013-2014 concert season encompasses a broad collection of national music – American (Aaron Copland’s ballet music from Rodeo and Billy the Kid), Russian (Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade), English (Britten’s Ceremony of Carols), Finnish (Sibelius Symphony 5), Norwegian (Grieg Lyric Suite), German (Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried’s Funeral Music) and French (Saint-Saens La Nuit, Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane, and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld). Secondary thematic threads emerge for each concert. For example, the October concert is a collaborative effort with Quincy Library’s Big Read program featuring Portis’ novel True Grit. This concert features music of the American West along with works devoted to the strength and tenacity of the human spirit. The bicentennial anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birthday is also an underlying component in our first concert. Audience members will enjoy the presence of harp in many of this season’s orchestrations along with solo harpist Claire Happel’s performance of the Debussy Danses sacrée et profane in April. This is significant with the announcement of a new endowed harp chair dedicated to the memory of Sarama Schnack. The orchestra welcomes another collaboration with the Symphony Chorus in April with Saint-Saens’ lovely La Nuit. We are excited to present another Chicago Symphony Beyond the Score presentation involving orchestra music, actors and projected images. This year’s featured presentation is Rimsky-Korsakov’s masterpiece, Sheherazade.
Audiences for the 2013-2014 season will enjoy an expansive variety of music and themes that carry both powerful and subtle interconnectivity. If you’re a returning subscriber, I thank you for your past support of our concerts. If you’re a prospective audience member, I encourage you to take part in one of the most exciting and engaging musical experiences in our region. Don’t miss this tremendous collection of orchestral art! Join us in 2013-2014.
Bruce Briney
Music Director, Quincy Symphony Orchestra
