The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra continues the 37th season reaching to “New Heights” in the 2018-2019 subscription series. On March 24 in Rudder Auditorium, Music Director Marcelo Bussiki invites you to an evening of Mozart and more featuring five soloists, as well as the Brazos Valley Chorale and Blinn College Choir. Along with the world-class BVSO musicians, March brings concertgoers a double dose of Mozart, presenting two works from the classical composer: Mozart’s Oboe Concerto and the spellbinding Requiem. BVSO is proud to once again partner with CHI St. Joseph Health as the official sponsor for the 2018-2019 Season and The Ham Family Trust as the concert sponsor for this large-scale production.
What Mozart for March When Sunday, March 24, at 5:00pm Where Rudder Auditorium on the Texas A&M University Campus in College Station Program
- McNair Meditation on Mercy
- Mozart Oboe Concerto, K. 314, C major
- Mozart Requiem, K. 626, D minor
Guest Artists
- Rebecca Fairweather-Haskins, oboe
- Soo Yeon Kim, soprano
- Jennifer Lane, contralto
- Randall Umstead, tenor
- Hector Vasquez, baritone
- Brazos Valley Chorale and Blinn College Choir
Concert Sponsor The Ham Family Trust
“I wanted to feature one of our outstanding musicians, our principal oboist Rebecca Fairweather-Haskins on Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, which is one of the best known and most important concertos in the oboe repertoire,” says Bussiki. “That work has an expressive and melodic nature that is very pleasing to most audiences. It is one of the finest examples of Mozart’s skill in writing beautiful, expressive, and joyful melodies.”
This performance will also feature a contemporary composition called Meditation on Mercy from American composer, Jonathan McNair, inspired by the Mozart Requiem. McNair composed another piece of music that the BVSO recently performed with the Marian Anderson String Quartet which was very well received in 2016 entitled Follow the Drinking Gourd. Bussiki explains, “Meditation on Mercy sets the mood, so to speak, for the Requiem in the second half of the concert. It is based on two chant melodies, one is the melody of a Kyrie eleison, and the second is Asperges me. Both of them are in the spirit of praying for mercy which is the pervasive theme of Mozart's Requiem.”
The mesmerizing Requiem will then encompass the second half of the performance. Bussiki shares, “The vocal soloists for Mozart’s Requiem were intentionally selected to showcase the outstanding accomplished vocal faculty from colleges and universities in Texas. Our Soprano, Soo Yeon Kim, comes from the Brenham campus of Blinn College; our contralto, Jennifer Lane, is a faculty member at the University of North Texas; tenor Randall Umstead teaches at Baylor University, and our bass, Hector Vasquez hails from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. We have so much talent in this state that I thought it would be exciting to spotlight these outstanding faculty that also maintain active careers as performers.”
BVSO patrons can also enjoy free pre-concert talks one hour prior to each subscription performance in the Rudder Theatre Complex. Ann Thompson will again present her delightful and witty insights into the composers, the history, and meaning behind the music. Then after the first four subscription concerts, a patron social hour with the Maestro at Napa Flats will keep the enjoyment going to top off an exquisite evening of music and entertainment.
“Our theme for this year is ‘New Heights’ due to our season featuring programs that are truly taking the BVSO to new levels of live performance,” according to Koeninger. “Each and every concert has exciting elements that audiences will love: this concert will have the incomparable Mozart, a modern take on Mozart’s works, five great soloists, and a grand-scale production with fantastic choirs on stage that will take your breath away! Purchase your individual tickets now — you get the best prices in advance.”
Individual tickets to all concerts are available through the MSC Box Office. Call (979) 845-1234 or go online to either www.bvso.org or www.boxoffice.tamu.edu. Single advance tickets for Mozart for March are $45 for adults and $16 for college students and younger. At-door prices are slightly higher and we encourage patrons to purchase in advance. All programs are subject to change. Contact the Symphony Office at (979) 696-6100 with any further questions.
