Rose Tree Pops Orchestra Concert

Name: Rose Tree Pops Orchestra Concert
Start: 2024-11-24T15:00:00-05:00
Location: St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church

Schedule

Sun Nov 24 2024 at 03:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church | Newtown Square, PA

Here’s a short summary of the program for you.
• Karelia overture - Jean Sibelius (1865 to 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods, and is widely known for his symphonies (he wrote 7) and his tone poems, especially Finlandia and the Karelia suite. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity when the country was struggling from several attempts at Russification in the late 19th century. The main city of the province of Karelia, Viipuri (Vyborg) was an important locus of Finnish cultural and political strength, particularly as opposed to Russia. In the summer of 1892, Sibelius made a pilgrimage to Karelia, where he wrote down many folk tunes. In 1893, at a popular concert, Sibelius conducted the Karelia overture.
• The Nutcracker Suite - Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840 to 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period and the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet from which Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet, forming The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, intended for concert performances. We will perform the Marche, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Reed Flutes, and Trepak,
• New World Symphony – Antonin Dvorak (1841 to 1904). Dvorak was a Czech composer and we close the first half of our concert with the 2nd and 4th movements of Dvorak’s 9th symphony, the New World Symphony. Dvorak composed the work while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. It is by far his most popular symphony, and one of the most popular in the romantic repertoire. The symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and premiered at Carnegie Hall in December 1893. Dvorak’s experiences in America (including his discovery of African-American and Native-American melodies) and his longing for home, color his music with mixed emotions. The New World Symphony's best-known melody comes from the "Largo" movement, played by the English horn. This tune was later adapted into the song "Goin' Home" by Harry Burleigh, a black composer whom Dvorak befriended while in New York. Dvorak brings back several themes from the entire symphony in the final movement. Dvorak was brilliant in his use of the church-like chords that come immediately before the now famous English Horn solo and he brings these opening chords back at the climax of the finale. Neil Armstrong took a recording of the New World Symphony during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing, in 1969.
INTERMISSION
• 1941 March - John Williams (1932 -). While 1941 certainly isn't one of Spielberg's best known films, its brilliance is undeniable, in large part thanks to the fantastic soundtrack by John Williams. Interestingly, Williams served from 1951 to 1955 in the U.S. Air Force. He served primarily as a pianist and brass player, but also did arranging and writing for the Air Force Band. Williams acknowledged that this period of his life was very important in shaping his own future path as a professional musician. What Pops concert would be complete without a work by John Williams.
• Corner Pocket - Count Basie (1904 to 1984) appeared on Basie’s April in Paris album in 1956. The track was composed by Basie guitarist Freddie Green and arranged by Ernie Wilkins. The song and arrangement are perfect in every way. The melody is catchy and the arrangement builds, resolves and builds again. Enjoy as our Big Band members play – Corner Pocket!
• My Unknown Someone is a song from the musical "The Will Rogers Follies.” The musical focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers. Using as a backdrop the Ziegfeld Follies, with Rogers at the zenith of his popularity, the country's biggest and highest paid star of every medium of his time (stage, screen, radio, newspapers, and public appearances), he is even asked to run for president. The song “My Unknown Someone” is sung by the character Betty Blake, representing Will Rogers' wife. It expresses her longing for a deeper connection with her husband who is often consumed by his fame and public persona. Essentially, she feels like an "unknown someone" to him. Despite the sad background, it is a beautiful piece of music, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. Enjoy as our multi-talented vocalist and trombonist Rebecca Burns sings “My Unknown Someone.”
• We close our concert today with Highlights from Wicked - a musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. It is based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that he based on the characters of the classic 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz. The musical Wicked is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz, and tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West initially portrayed by Idina Menzel) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch, portrayed by Kristin Chenoweth). The story recounts their relationship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, and the story is an amazing twist on the original book and the music is spectacular. The original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway in October 2003. The success of the Broadway production has spawned countless productions globally and has broken box-office records around the world. In 2016, Wicked surpassed $1 billion in total Broadway revenue, joining The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King as the only Broadway shows to do so. In 2017, Wicked surpassed The Phantom of the Opera as Broadway's second-highest grossing musical, trailing only The Lion King. And Yes, Wicked is now a movie, with the musical split into two separate films, opening in Theaters on Nov. 22nd.
We believe this is both a challenging and entertaining program, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy the performance, so we hope you can join us. As always, our concerts are free with no admission charge. What a deal!
Please feel free to forward this notice (and/or the attached flier) to friends and family that may be interested, or point them to our website at http://www.rosetreepops.org or to our Facebook page.
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As you may or may not know, the Rose Tree Pops Orchestra is a 501C3 non-profit organization composed of roughly 65 musicians from the surrounding area and we would always welcome your support. Our concerts are always free, but if you would like to donate, we welcome your financial support to purchase new music and equipment and to fund special performances. Contributions are tax deductible, and can be mailed to our address.
Rose Tree Pops Orchestra
110 Arbor Place
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
OR
Feel free to donate by Venmo to @RoseTreePopsOrchestra