Star City Blog / Music

LSO Takes One-Year Hiatus from 'Uncle Sam Jam'

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra will not be a part of Uncle Sam Jam 2010, the City of Lincoln’s annual Independence Day celebration.

“This is purely a financial decision,” said LSO board president C.J. Thoma. “LSO is disappointed that we need to take a one-year hiatus from our involvement in the Uncle Sam Jam,” she said. “Although we love the opportunity to give back to the community in this unique way, at this time we need to prioritize our regular concert series and education programs.”

George Bernard Shaw -- Wrong? Abendmusik Presents Brahms' Requiem

The first time Shaw heard Johannes Brahms colossal Requiem he wrote: “It could only have come from the establishment of a first-class undertaker” 

Controversy has surrounded this work since it was first performed in Bremen in 1868.  At the first performance, the tympanist misread the written pianissimo for fortissimo and pounded the daylights out of his instrument while the chorus was trying to weave a complex fugue above it. 

Instead of following the traditional Roman Catholic liturgical text, Brahms chose to make use of the Luther German Bible.  This skips the traditional dies irae (day of wrath) and prayers for the dead and instead aims at providing comfort for the living and an acceptance of death. Nowhere in the work is Jesus mentioned.

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Presents Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

LSO’s season finale presents one of music’s most beloved works, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, which closes with the familiar melody “Ode to Joy.”  

Following Beethoven’s Consecration of the House Overture, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 features the Nebraska Wesleyan and Lincoln Civic choirs, directed by Dr. William Wyman. Featured soloists are Jamie Reimer, Rebecca Shane, Jeff Keele and Ryan MacPherson.  

“There is nothing quite as exciting for me as the feeling of choral energy as is surrounds you as a soloist,” Shane said. “When this is combined with orchestral brilliance, the feeling is more overwhelming that words can express.”

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Features Music About 'Night'

Tenor Kevin Hanrahan and Gregory Helseth, LSO principal horn, understand the commitment that is involved in putting together an expressive piece like Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

 

“The piece is deeply emotional, and I find that I cannot play it without a true investment of myself,” Helseth said.

 

Helseth and Hanrahan will perform the Britten work, a staple of tenor and horn repertoire, with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra. LSO presents “A Little Night Music” on Saturday, February 6, at 7:30 p.m., at Kimball Recital Hall. The concert begins with the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by J.S. Bach and the Britten Serenade, and finishes with Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Richard Strauss’s Suite for 13 Winds.

'Deck the Halls' with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra

Start your holiday season off on the right note with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra!
 
LSO will feature the Lincoln Boys Choir, the University of Nebraska at Kearney Choraleers and the Lincoln Midwest Ballet Company on Saturday, December 12, at 7:30 p.m., at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The concert, performed under the baton of Dr. Tyler G. White, includes popular holiday favorites Sleigh Ride and excerpts from The Nutcracker, and works by Bach, Handel and Berlioz.
 
Come at 5:30 p.m. and get an early start on the festivities with a special reception. For $20 per person, enjoy hearty appetizers, a cash bar, a performance by the Lincoln Boys Choir, and get a jump start on your holiday shopping with poinsettias, Christmas ornaments, raffle items and photo opportunities with Santa Claus. The special pre-concert reception is presented by the LSO Guild.

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra features the Bassoon, Holst’s 'The Planets'

While the bassoon may be viewed by some as the clown of the orchestra, composer Dan Welcher and LSO Principal Bassoonist Jeffrey McCray are experts at showing the instrument’s expressive side.  

“The bassoon itself is capable of a much wider range of expression than the lumpy, bumpy comedian instrument that is often heard in cartoon music,” McCray said.  

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra will feature McCray and Welcher in “The Planets,” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, October 23, at Kimball Recital Hall. The concert begins with the Concerto da camara for Bassoon and Small Orchestra, written by Welcher, and is followed by Gustav Holst’s The Planets.  

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Presents 'The Firebird' October 18

Although the Madcap Puppet Theatre has performed with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra several times before, this year they’re bringing a new act to the stage – shadow puppetry.  

Performing behind a large screen and with special lighting, the Madcap actors and their puppets will help LSO bring the Russian fairy tale of the Firebird to life.  

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra will feature the Madcap Puppet Theatre in its first Family Series concert of the season at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, at O’Donnell Auditorium on the campus of Nebraska Wesleyan University. A musical petting zoo and face painting will begin one hour before the concert.

New Music Agency Tribute to Composer Randy Snyder on Sunday, October 25

On Sunday, October 25, The New Music Agency (NMA) pays tribute to local composer Randall Snyder with their performance, "Wall of Snyder" at the Lincoln Unitarian Church, 63rd and A streets, 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults.

The All-Snyder concert will include solo performances by two Agency members: Jessica Lindsey, bass clarinet, premiering "Legong Studies" and Betsy Bobenhouse, flute, performing "Dream of Naksongdae", pieces based on Snyder’s interest in Asian music. Karen Sandene, contrabassoon and Joe Holmquist, marimba, will perform “Boogie On Contra Woman”, a work influenced by Stevie Wonder’s funk classic, "Boogie On Reggae Woman".

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Presents “Brahms on Brahms” on Sept. 18

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra will feature Concertmaster Anton Miller in its first concert of the season, “Brahms on Brahms,” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, September 18, at Kimball Recital Hall.  

 

The concert begins with the technically brilliant Brahms Violin Concerto, and is followed by the Brahms Symphony No. 1. Concertmaster Anton Miller said the Brahms Violin Concerto is perhaps the greatest violin concerto ever written.

 

“I love it because of its lyricism, beautiful melodies, drama and virtuosity,” Miller said. “I also love the fact that I can share its splendor with my friends in Lincoln.”

 

And as for the Brahms Symphony No. 1?  “Playing it always gives me goosebumps,” Miller said.

LSO Season Finale Features Jay Wise, Trombone

LINCOLN — Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra ends its 2008-09 season with a concert featuring LSO Principal Trombonist Jay Wise at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 8 at Kimball Recital Hall.

 

Wise will play Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, a virtuosic piece that reminds the listener of the trombone’s prominence in the jazz medium. The concert closes with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, a climactic ending to the season with its lush romanticism and grand sweeping gestures.

 

“What better way to end the season than with one of the most compelling and beautiful romantic pieces ever written,” said Edward Polochick, LSO Music Director. “Jay is extremely talented and we are very fortunate to have someone with his talents be part of our LSO family, and be featured at the season finale. The audience will enjoy the evening from beginning to end.”