UW Symphony Orchestra Opens Season With ‘Haydn’s Surprise’ Oct. 5

Opening night at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera evokes images of tuxedos, long gowns, diamond necklaces and champagne in elegant glasses. In Laramie, opening night for the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra (UWSO) is just as special.

“It has been months since you last heard the orchestra and months since they could play for you,” says Michael Griffith, UW’s director of orchestral activities and a professor of music.

The UWSO will open the 2023-24 season with “Haydn’s Surprise” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

Tickets are $14 for the public, $10 for senior citizens and $4 for students. A nominal processing fee will be charged for each ticket. To purchase tickets, visit the Performing Arts box office, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984.

Griffith’s first downbeat will start Wagner’s “Meistersinger Overture” -- a powerful, massive and, yet, achingly beautiful piece of music. It is “an exciting way to start the season,” he says.

Griffith named the concert after the orchestra’s next work: the Symphony No. 94, nicknamed the “Surprise Symphony” by Franz Joseph Haydn. Haydn was decades earlier than Wagner, part of the Classical era of music history, while Wagner was firmly from the Romantic era.

“As such, the orchestra is smaller, the sound clearer and more immediate,” Griffith explains. “It is exciting, occasionally humorous and sometimes elegant. It is up to the audience to research the nickname -- no spoilers here. Or, let yourself be surprised.”

After intermission, the UWSO will perform a brief curtain-raiser -- “Procession of Nobles” from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Mlada” -- a stately entry march, full of brass fanfares and powerful 19th century Russian fire, Griffith says.

The world premiere of “The Point for Jazz Piano Trio and Symphony Orchestra” follows, which is a full three-movement concerto but with decidedly jazz-influenced rhythms and harmonies. UW’s faculty jazz trio, The Ben Markley Trio, is the soloist.

“Over the past decade or two, UW’s jazz area has grown incredibly,” Griffith says. “The top student jazz ensemble has even twice played at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. So, to show the symphony audience this wonderful side to UW, the Symphony Association and the music department commissioned Wil Swindler to write this concerto.”

The Ben Markley Trio features UW Department of Music faculty members Ben Markley on piano, Seth Lewis on bass and Andy Wheelock on drums. The trio writes and arranges music that reflects and builds upon the rich history of the jazz piano trio.

Each member offers a unique and distinct musical perspective, which comes together as “hard-swinging, harmonically rich and infectiously groovy tunes.” The trio released its first record, “Look Forward to the Silver Lining,” this year and is in the process of recording a second studio record with renowned vibraphonist Steve Nelson. The recording will be released next year.

The UWSO will tour Europe during spring break, performing in Nice and Avignon, France, and Barcelona, Spain, with sightseeing scheduled in Aix-en-Provence.

“It will be a life-changing experience for them,” Griffith says. He and the Symphony Association are doing everything they can to make it affordable for all of the musicians. “When you make your annual donation to the Symphony Association Scholarship Fund, please also make an additional donation specifically for the tour. The players cannot thank you enough.”

For more information, email Griffith at symph@uwyo.edu.