UW Symphony Orchestra to Perform Final Concert of Season May 4

The University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra will perform its last concert of the season Thursday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

“Romeo and Juliet” will feature a variety of compositions, including an overture to Orpheus, an unusual work by Libby Larsen and a well-known symphony, all worked into a theme of love and passion.

Tickets cost $10 for the public, $7 for senior citizens and $6 for students. For tickets and information, call (307) 766-6666, go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts, or visit the Performing Arts box office or the Wyoming Union information desk.

The concert will begin with German composer Christoph Willibald Gluck’s “Overture to Orpheus.” This is a popular opera piece, known for its “noble simplicity” in music and drama.

Larsen, the UW Eminent Composer-in-Residence, will follow with “What the Monster Saw.” This tone poem describes Frankenstein’s monster, his coming to life, his attempt to join society and his failure to fit in.

Katrina Zook, UW Department of Music professor, will perform “Songs of a Wayfarer,” written by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler.

Zook has performed in major operatic roles, including “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Così fan tutte,” “Hansel and Gretel” and “Carmen.” A frequent soloist and recitalist, her recent performances include Handel’s “Te Deum and Jubilate,” Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace,” Mozart’s “Requiem” and Bach’s Cantata No. 39.

Zook has performed in national and international venues. She gave a series of recitals in historic Mennonite churches in the Netherlands. She also has performed at the Los Angeles Composers Forum, Prisms Contemporary Music Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif., the International Computer Music Association and for New Frontiers: The Laramie Contemporary Music Project.

The concert will include “Siegfried’s Funeral Music from Götterdämmerung,” a dramatic piece by Wagner, that uses 16 members from the brass section alone.

Audience members who like to stay connected to social media are welcome -- silently -- to post their comments and share their experiences online. “Tweet Seats” are available only in the back two rows of the hall.

Now in his 28th year as UW Symphony Orchestra director, Michael Griffith will conduct the concert.

To learn more about the UW Symphony Orchestra, visit www.uwyo.edu/music/ensembles/symphony_orchestra.html.