InConcert Sierra launches 67th season on September 22

Who: InConcert Sierra presents “Once Upon an Orchestra”

Where: Seventh-day Adventist Church, 12889 Osborne Hill Road, Grass Valley

When: Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 2pm

Tickets: $55 general; $50 season ticket holders/key level donors

Available at: Briar Patch Coop Community Market; online at inconcertsierra.org; or by calling 530.273.3990

“Once Upon an Orchestra” – A Fairy Tale of a Program

InConcert Sierra celebrates the opening of its 67th season with the largest ensemble yet. Maestro Ken Hardin presents the Sierra Master Chorale Orchestra unplugged “without the chorale” and in “Once Upon an Orchestra,” with a “fairy tale of a program,” at 2pm on Sunday, September 22 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grass Valley.

“The Sierra Master Chorale performs with an orchestra at all their concerts. When you have an instrumental ensemble that plays this well, this is a great decision,” noted Dr. Robert M. Johnson in the May 2013 online edition of the Sacramento Choral Calendar Review of the SMC and Orchestra May concerts.

“At our 2012 holiday concerts, I had the orchestra perform ‘Carol of the Bells’ on its own, and they brought down the house. Not only was the orchestra wonderful, but the superb acoustic of the Seventh-day Adventist Church enhanced the experience. It was electric,” says Hardin.

“For the September concert, we’ve increased the orchestra to 44 excellent local and regional players. I love working with this orchestra, and I’ll get to work with some of my colleagues from the past including oboist Neil Tatman and timpanist Tom Rance, and a few new ones also, such as cellist David Speltz from Los Angeles. This concert is going to be special for everyone – including me.”

“The music in this program is guaranteed to thrill and move the audience… all of the pieces are well-known orchestral gems that are bigger than life. They are vibrant, lushly beautiful, and all touch upon some dramatic, fantastic tale or magical, mystical place,” said concertmaster Richard Altenbach.

The program is complete with works such as Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture”, Sibelius’ “Finlandia”, Verdi’s “Grand March” from Aida, Grieg’s “Anitra’s Dance” & “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt Suite #1, Smetana’s “The Moldau”, Mascagni’s ”Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana”, Mendelssohn’s “Die Hebriden” (Fingal’s Cave), and Brahms “Hungarian Dances #5 & #6″. “The greatest hits of orchestra” remarked first violinist Nancy Hill.

For a complete listing of orchestral players and the program, please visit inconcertsierra.org.

—InConcert Sierra