The Southwest Symphony Orchestra will entertain audiences with its season premiere concert, “The Magic of Mozart.”
Gary Caldwell, associate professor of music, will direct the orchestra as it plays some of the beautiful and unique works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Adriana Horne, adjunct music instructor and harpist in the Southwest Symphony, said she likes how the focus of this concert is on one composer. That way audience can hear the variety of his music as well as the similarities of his pieces.
Lichelle Christensen, Southwest Symphony violinist for 19 years, said she hopes people will enjoy and get a love for Mozart’s music, especially the distinctive style of it.
“I would hope that people would just come and close their eyes and listen and enjoy some amazing music from an amazing musician and composer,” Christensen said.
Horne said one unique piece of Mozart’s will be a flute and harp concerto. During the classical period, music wasn’t written much for harps, but a student requested that Mozart write a flute and harp piece for her.
“Mozart was the first composer who started using it as a solo instrument,” Horne said. “So this is one of the first times you hear the harp as a solo instrument with orchestra.”
Horne will be playing the harp for this concerto with flutist Ami Porter.
“It’s really a fun piece to play,” Horne said.”The flute and harp really play off each other. I’ve played it several times, and it’s always new because it’s like chamber music.”
J.D. Quinn, a sophomore general education major from St. George, said he has played some of Mozart’s pieces before and has attended Southwest Symphony concerts. He said it’s good to have a symphony here in town.
“They’re not Boston Pops, but for a local orchestra it’s pretty good,” Quinn said.
The Southwest Symphony is made up of mostly individuals in the community who give up their time because of their love of music, Christensen said.
“We do it because we love it, and that really is the reason,” he said. “We don’t get paid, and we take time out of our own busy schedules and lives (to) practice and perform because we all love music.”
The concert will be about two hours long with an intermission, and Christensen said etiquette is something to pay attention to.
“You shouldn’t clap until it is very clear that the music is over,” Christensen said. “Often times the conductor will still have his hands in the air and people start clapping and we have to sit there and wait.”
Christensen also said it’s better to not bring babies to the symphony since it can distract the players. She also advised audience members to be polite and conscious of the people around them, and keep conversations for a later time.
“The Magic of Mozart” will take place Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cox Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available at the door or by calling the Dixie State College box office at 435-652-7800. The Southwest Symphony will also be performing a Halloween Spooktacular on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cox Auditorium. Visit southwestsymphony.org for more information.
