A rare public workshop with the Okanagan Symphony rehearsing performances of Magnificent Mozart will be held at UBC Okanagan on October 26. This is the second in this year's series of Minds and Music free matinee concerts at the university.
The rehearsal offers a sneak peek of what's to come from the Okanagan Symphony when they open their 2007 season in Kelowna the following night with Rosemary Thomson as conductor. In honour of the 250th birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the symphony will showcase the brilliant works of this renowned composer.
"It's not very often that you have an opportunity to see a symphony preparing for a major performance," said Minds and Music series organizer Manuela Ungureanu. "This open workshop will be especially informative and entertaining, promising plenty of interaction between the musicians, the conductor, the singer, the actor, and perhaps even the audience."
The concert workshop begins at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, October 26, 2006, in the foyer of the Student Services Centre at UBC Okanagan.
- The first pieces performed will be three arias by Mozart with soprano Dawn Mussellam: "Porgi Amor" from The Marriage of Figaro, "Come Scoglio" from Cosi Fan Tutte and Concert Aria "Misera Dove Son" K.369.
- At 1:15 p.m. the orchestra will be rehearsing the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro.
- After a break the workshop starts again at 2:15 p.m., with the first and last movements of Mozart's Symphony No. 41, K.551 "Jupiter."
The lineup of celebrated music is sprinkled with special readings by David Reid, reciting from a collection of Mozart's personal letters that chronicle the life, music and colourful character that he was.
Music Bridge Features Italian Music Students, Nov. 10
The third concert of the Minds and Music series, set for November 10 at 12:30 p.m., will feature the UBC School of Music and the Conservatorio "G.F. Ghedini" di Cuneo from Italy. They have created Music Bridge -- Un Ponte Musicale -- as an educational and cultural exchange project between the two schools.
Last February, two UBC students were selected to travel to Italy to form a quintet with students from the Cuneo Conservatory. Masterclasses, rehearsals and chamber music performances took place in the Cuneo, Piedmont and Turin areas during the Olympic Games.
In part two of the exchange, UBC welcomes two students, Ferdinando Viette (cello) and Olga Tarasevich (piano) from Cuneo to work with three UBC students to rehearse and perform in several areas of B.C., including Kelowna and Penticton.
"The opportunity to work and study with artists from another culture is one our students will never forget, and one in which the entire School of Music is thrilled to participate," said Jesse Read, director of the UBC School of Music. "The bridges we build through music will, with luck and effort, extend throughout society, promote culture and strengthen our understanding of one another."
For more information about this year's free public concerts at UBC Okanagan, visit:www.ubc.ca/okanagan/publicaffairs/mindsandmusic.html
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