UW Symphony Orchestra’s Season-Opening Concert Oct. 9

Is there a symphony as popular as Dvořák’s “New World?” Michael Griffith, University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra director, encourages those who know this piece to attend the orchestra’s season-opening performance Thursday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

Tickets are available at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984, by phone at (307) 766-6666 or at the Performing Arts box office. The symphony’s opening-night fall concert often is very full, so Griffith says guests should reserve their tickets early.

Why is the music so popular? Dvořák left Prague and settled in New York from 1892-95. He immersed himself in what he considered American folk music. His goal was to create classical music with a truly American flair.

“His success is obvious: the Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World,’ and the ‘American” String Quartet,’” Griffith says. “Whether the melodies are more American than Bohemian can be argued, but they are certainly folk-like. And his symphonic treatment is absolutely unsurpassed.”

What do you program with such a blockbuster? Because “New World” refers to all of the Americas, Griffith chose works by a Mexican and a Brazilian: Arturo Márquez’s “Danzón No. 2” and the guitar concerto by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Inspired by Cuban and Mexican danzón salon dances, danzón is fun and electrifying. Márquez’s father was a mariachi musician, and guests will hear a bit of that influence, too -- especially in some of the trumpet writing.

When Griffith last conducted in Goiânia, Brazil -- his third trip there -- he met classical guitarist Eduardo Meirinhos. One thing they discussed was his love of the Villa-Lobos concerto.

“It’s a fascinating piece; we are so happy to bring to you,” Griffith says. “And, if you enjoy Dr. Meirinhos’ performance of the concerto, he’s also offering a free solo recital Sunday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. We don’t hear much classical guitar in Laramie, so don’t miss that opportunity.”

Meirinhos has given concerts in South America, Europe and the U.S., participating in several music festivals as both teacher and performer. This includes Festival de Musica de Londrina, Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão, Seminario de Musica de Montenegro, Curso de Verão de Brasília and Festival de Vale Vêneto.

In 1997, he recorded the CD “Radames Gnattali, Sonatas e Sonatinas” and, in 1998, he participated in the live recording of the “Festival de Musica de Londrina,” which also was made into a CD. In 2007, he released his solo CD “Eduardo Meirinhos em Recital.” Most recently, he released his new CD “Sonatas by Eduardo Meirinhos.”

In Hannover, Germany, in 1989, Meirinhos performed in the world premiere of Greek composer Nikos Platirrachos’ “Lisistrati” for violin, viola, clarinet and cello, in which the guitar is featured as a solo instrument. He also premiered performances of “Laudate Dominae,” “Toada Triste,” “Um Tranquilo Entardecer” and “Cantiga de Ninar” by Siegfried Schmidt, and instigated the first Brazilian performance of “Variations sur un Thème de Django Reinhardt” by Leo Brouwer.

 

He is a professor in the Escola de Música e Artes Cênicas at the Universidade Federal de Goias, Brazil, where he teaches guitar, guitar literature and chamber music. He was the director of the school between 2007-2010, and he is currently the director again since 2019, in the second term consecutively. 

 

Meirinhos’s musical education began in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Conservatório Dramático e Musical de São Paulo. He obtained the undergraduate degree at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover (Germany). 

When he returned to São Paulo in 1994, he joined the graduate program in the Departamento de Música at the Universidade de São Paulo, where he stayed until 1997, obtaining a master’s degree in musicology. Most recently in 2002, he earned his doctoral degree at Florida State University.