The Mississippi Valley Orchestra is beginning its 39th season with a wonderful concert featuring Artistic Director Henry Charles Smith and MN Orchestra associate principal oboist, John Snow, on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 4 pm at First Lutheran Church in Columbia Heights.
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This free concert, titled “Happy, Music for a Cheerful Spirit” includes works by Dvorak, Grieg, and Shostakovich. John Snow will be the soloist for the Oboe Concerto by Allesandro Marcello. This performance will be particularly special for our orchestra because it is in memory of Liza Berry, MVO oboist for 30 years, who died in March at the age of 55. She and anyone who met her had a cheerful spiritThe audience will be treated to the Shostakovich “Festive Overture”, a bright number with big brass sounds beginning and end. Grieg’s “Last Spring” from Two Elegiac Melodies for Strings is a very familiar tune, often played on the piano.
Antonin Dvorak, a Czech immigrant, had a connection to St. Paul, visiting Minnehaha Falls. We will wrap up this concert with Dvorak’s 8th Symphony which provides a mix of lyricism, Bohemian dance music, and trumpet fanfare. What a wonderful way to spend an October afternoon!
The Mississippi Valley Orchestra is a community-based orchestra that has been performing for the past 39 years, and is a gem of the Twin Cities. We have 60+ musicians, and perform 4 concerts per year.
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