The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra presents their 53rd season finale Beethoven’s Brilliance on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The concert opens with Bach’s Suite in G minor and Welsh composer Hilary Tann’s nature-inspired With the Heather and Small Birds and concludes with Beethoven’s Mass in C.
“Beethoven’s Mass in C is a brilliant, energetic, and touching musical document from the grand tradition established by Mozart and Haydn. It teems with the drama found in the ancient texts of the Latin Mass, in a concert format exemplary of the very finest in sacred music from that glorious era. We will present the work in its entirety, featuring young stars from Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist program and an all-star chorus made up of professionals from Westmoreland County in collaboration with the musicians of the WSO,” said Artistic Director Daniel Meyer.
The symphony will be joined on stage by WSO Chamber Singers, a 40-member choir made up of talented local vocalists, directed by Marc Tourre. The featured professional opera soloists include David Walton, tenor and three Pittsburgh Opera resident artists: Maire Therese Carmack, mezzo, Véronique Filloux, soprano, and Jeremy Harr, bass.
“The Mass in C Major is truly an inspiring work. The Chamber Choir is very excited about performing again with the WSO. It is equally exciting to be able to sing as a group again after a two-year break because of the pandemic,” said choir director Marc Tourre.
Our final concert of the season reveals the elegance and beauty of Bach through by reimagining of some his solo keyboard works into a suite for orchestra made by Max Reger. Carefully selected from Bach’s keyboard works, Reger paints the Baroque in the colors of the modern orchestra, and I believe Bach would have thoroughly appreciated how craftily and deftly Reger give these works new life.
Hilary Tann is a Welsh-born composer now living in upstate New York. Her music is often inspired by nature, and in ‘With the Heather and Small Birds’, she takes us on a musical exploration of her childhood home. Tann says ‘It is a place of freedom, ancientness, and song – songs of the valley and song of the skylark.
>Tickets: $18-up, masks are optional inside the theatre.
