Chamber Orchestra performs at Concordia

Published by Concordia University, Nebraska 11 years ago on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 2:30 PM

Concordia’s Chamber Orchestra gave its first concert of the season on Sunday, Dec. 2, in the Music Center’s recital hall.

“My goal for our ensemble this year is to present polished performances and explore literature for small orchestra from a variety of contrasting time periods,” said Dr. Christopher Nichols, conductor of the orchestra, which formed last fall.

The concert began with Robert W. Smith’s arrangement of “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Gustav Holst. Because the piece was arranged for a symphony orchestra, Nichols says he adapted the score for the lighter instrumentation of the Chamber Orchestra.

Next, the ensemble presented three minuets by Giacomo Puccini, a composer known for his operas of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These pieces featured the ensemble’s string section.

Emily Brandt, senior, of Loveland, Colo., and Kelly Jacob, junior, of Winnebago, Neb., performed a concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann. The concerto set Brandt’s flute and Jacob’s bassoon talents against the rest of the orchestra. The piece also utilized the sounds of a harpsichord.

In closing, the orchestra performed excerpts from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Musical Offering, BWV 1079.” This piece, based on the “thema regium” or “theme of the king,” according to Nichols, was composed after Bach’s visit to King Frederick II in 1747. The orchestra performed several short selections from the hour-long composition.

Orchestra members:

Emily Brandt, senior, Loveland, Colo., flute

Amy Buchholz, freshman, Gillet, Wis., violin

Donald Dynneson, graduate student, Seward, Neb., cello

Emily Eberspacher, freshman, Beaver Crossing, Neb., violin

Diane Hayes, Milford, Neb., viola

Jonathan Heckmann, sophomore, Canton, S.D., cello

Kelly Jacob, junior, Winnebago, Neb., bassoon

Natalie Kesar, junior, Omaha, Neb., cello

Sarah Mahnken, senior, Schleswig, Iowa, euphonium, piano

Audrey Mehl, sophomore, Concordia, Mo., violin

Erik Scherer, junior, Bismarck, N.D., violin

Elna Young, Milford, Neb., violin