Program:
Mendelssohn: Athalia Overture
Barber: Violin Concerto – Guest Artist Anthea Kreston
Holst: The Planets

Pre-concert talk by Director, Jonathan DeBruyn 3PM

The Planets is a brilliant and dramatic symphony with movements representing all the known planets at the time it was written. It’s an ambitious masterpiece requiring many instruments including 6 timpani, 2 harps, celeste, numerous percussion, horns, woodwinds, strings, and a female choir for Neptune – the Mystic, the last haunting movement.
In a search for a female treble chorus, Sunnyside Symphony Orchestra Director, Jonathan DeBruyn heard recordings of Pride of Portland (PoP) Sweet Adelines chorus, and reached out to its Director, Drew Osterhout. PoP is an a capella chorus performing close four-part harmony primarily in the barbershop style. The clear, careful vocalization was what Jonathan was looking for. Although a step out of their comfort zone, Drew jumped at the chance for an exciting musical adventure. While Jonathan was busy finding instrumentalists to fill the orchestration, Drew reached out to various community choruses for more soprano and alto singers, building a PoP and Friends chorus.
The Planets requires the chorus to be off-stage while singing to give the feeling of angelic voices. This means also finding a way to coordinate the two directors during the piece as well as figure out how to fit all the instruments on the stage.
This truly ambitious concert will also include the Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber with Guest Artist, Anthea Kreston, the terrific first violin of Oregon’s renowned Delgani Quartet.