Mid-Columbia Symphony Concert “What’s Old Is New” with the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers

Our next concert will be at the Kennewick High School auditorium on Sunday, February 5 at 3:00 PM with the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers.
The program is:
Ellen Taafe Zwilich: Concerto Grosso 1985
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Arvo Pärt: Adam’s Lament – With the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers
Ottorino Respighi: Suite of Ancient Dances and Airs #2
These four pieces tell a story of how composers are continuously re-evaluating and re-sculpting the musical sounds of the past 500 years. Our Music Director and Conductor, Dr. Nicholas Wallin, explains:

“I’ve been thinking about the idea for this concert for quite some time. I’m continuously struck by how often composers have looked backwards in time for inspiration. Composers of very wide-ranging styles have used music from the past to inspire their thoughts and ideas. It seems vital to stay connected to a history of styles, ideas, and sounds.
Our season is entitled “Vibrant and Vital” and I wanted to remind everyone that we are always creating new things but always looking backwards and re-evaluating the sounds that have come before.”

Ellen Taafe Zwilich and Arvo Pärt are contemporary composers who have both found inspiration in older materials.Zwilich re-casts a Violin Sonata by G.F. Handel in her Concerto Grosso 1985.Arvo Pärt composes in a style that often approaches Gregorian chant.His piece Adam’s Lament from 2009 is a setting for mixed chorus (Mid-Columbia Mastersingers) and strings of a prayer by St. Silouan.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is a captivatingly beautiful piece for string orchestra based on a 16th-century psalm melody.Ottorino Respighi composed three different suites of music from the 16th and 17th centuries.His Ancient Dances and Airs Suite #2 is a setting for full orchestra of music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras that was originally composed for lute.