Department of Music

The Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra concludes its 2011-12 season on Saturday, April 21, 8:00 p.m., at Old Cabell Hall on the U.Va Grounds, and Sunday, April 22, 3:30 p.m., at Monticello High School in Charlottesville.

Conducted by Music Director Kate Tamarkin, the program includes The Swan of Tuonela by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto in F minor for Bass Tuba and Orchestra and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 in D.

Both performances are sponsored by McGuireWoods.

The mournful, brooding voice of the swan in The Swan of Tuonela will be heard in an English horn solo played by the orchestra’s Principal Oboist, Aaron Hill.

Seth Cook, Principal Tuba, will step out of the lower brass section to take center stage in the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto. Cook is a two-time winner of the American Brass Quintet Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival and has performed in over twenty countries. In addition to maintaining an active performing schedule in the Washington, D.C. area, Mr. Cook pursues his other passion – coffee – by running a specialty coffee shop in Arlington, Virginia.

Concertos for tuba are rarely composed and rarely heard. “With this concerto, Vaughan Williams gave a real ‘voice’ to the instrument, showing its technical capacity,” says Cook. Rooted in the English tradition, the work is full of the soaring melodies for which Vaughan Williams is recognized.

The Second Symphony of Jean Sibelius secured his place among Scandinavia’s most well-known composers. Overflowing with pastoral elements celebrating his beloved Finland, it has achieved a place in the popular repertoire more than any of his other six symphonies.

Know the Score pre-concert lectures will be presented 45 minutes before each concert. Free of charge, these informative and entertaining lectures by McIntire Department of Music Chairman and Associate Professor of Music Richard Will offer both novice and experienced patrons a deeper appreciation of the performances. Saturday’s lecture will take place in Minor Hall; Sunday’s lecture will be held in the Forum at Monticello High School.

Free parking is available in the U.Va Central Grounds Parking Garage, located on Emmet Street, on Saturday night and at the high school on Sunday afternoons. Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

Tickets are priced at $20, $25, $30 and $38 for adults, and $10 for students. U.Va students may request one complimentary ticket in advance. Tickets may be purchased at The University of Virginia Arts Box Office, (434) 924-3376, 12:00-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday in the lobby of the Drama Building at 109 Culbreth Road, or on-line at www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu.
Link for Saturday Symphony Concert Tickets.
Link for Sunday Symphony Concert Tickets.
Link forU.Va students to request one complimentary ticket in advance.

Holders of Public Broadcasting MemberCards are eligible for two-for-one admission on either concert date.