The Louisville Orchestra is about to kick off its 2015-16 season, and it's offering a free concert this Saturday evening as an appetizer.
The performance will include samples of work that will appear later in the season, to entice the audience to come back in later months. Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” a familiar melody often associated with television sports, foreshadows a series of spring concerts highlighting American music. The program also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"), which will be performed in October, alongside an original composition by Music Director Teddy Abrams, titled "Louisville Concerto."
Abrams said the concert will also include some Stravinsky, in anticipation of a springtime collaboration between the orchestra and the ballet.
“We’re playing 'Petrouschka' this year in an all-new choreography with the Louisville Ballet, a genuine collaboration which I’m very, very excited about," Abrams said.
That collaboration will also include an original ballet composed by Abrams, and an unusual performance of Philip Glass' Violin Concerto, with saxophonist Amy Dickson performing the solo part instead of a violinist.
Baritone Jubilant Sykes, who will perform the role of the Celebrant in the upcoming performances of Bernstein’s “Mass,” will also sing on Saturday. Sykes will sing a piece from "Mass," which he has recorded with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, along with a selection of spirituals.
The Louisville Orchestra presented a similar season preview last year, and Abrams said the audience was enthusiastic.
"Louisville audiences are the best. They really are," Abrams said. "They’re so supportive, and I think they genuinely care about their arts organizations, their arts scene, so much that they want their orchestra to do well. So this is a fun concert to come to. And it’s free!"
The Season Preview concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Iroquois Amphitheater. No tickets are required. Here's more information.
(Image via the Louisville Orchestra)
