Sooke Philharmonic: 5 May 2024
Hi everyone! It’s definitely Spring, and it’s definitely time for another concert newsletter.
This one is to tell you about my upcoming performance as part of the Sooke Philharmonic, who will also be joined by a chorus. I’ve never played a concert with a full orchestra and a chorus before, which means that the classical repertoire for that combination is almost all completely new to me. I’m looking forward to this experience.
Here’s what we’ll be performing for you:
Fauré Pavane Op. 50
The first piece on this program is not actually a choral work; this one is just for orchestra, and I have actually played it before, although I was in either high school or middle school when I did, so it’s been long enough. You may remember that there was a Pavane in the last concert I wrote about, as well - it’s slow courtly dance from the 1500s, and according to Wikipedia, it was used to parade couples in front of everyone and show off their cool dance moves and outfits. I prefer the Soul Train line as the vehicle to accomplish that particular goal, but I like the stately motion in this piece.
Vaughan Williams Toward the Unknown Region
This is, hands down, my favorite one that I’ll be performing in this concert, and also the one with the most difficult violin part (hmm, I should go practice). I’ll confess to being a Vaughan Williams fan anyway, but the way that he sets this Walt Whitman poem is gorgeous. I particularly like how he uses the orchestral textures to illustrate what’s happening in the text, and there are definitely a few moments that John Williams borrowed in here.
Fauré Requiem
We’re ending with Fauré as well, and I’ll admit that I hadn’t even known that he wrote a Requiem before I signed up to play this one. It has a little less fire and brimstone than some Requiems do, and more just plain lovely moments.
The concert is in Sooke, at the Sooke Community Hall, on May 5th at 2:30. You can get more information and tickets here - it’s cash only at the door, so it’s worth getting tickets in advance if you aren’t in the habit of having that on you. It’d be lovely to see you there!
And as always, thanks for listening.