Northwest Sinfonietta bridges the old and new world with ‘Land(Wind)Fall’ Jan. 28-29
TACOMA, Wash. – The Northwest Sinfonietta under the baton of newly appointed artistic partner Mei-Ann Chen bridges the old and new world with “Land(Wind)Fall” on January 28 at 7:30 p.m. (Rialto Theatre, 310 S. 9th St., Tacoma) and January 29 at 2:00 p.m. (Pioneer Park Pavilion, 330 S. Meridian, Puyallup).
Mei-Ann Chen, who joined the sinfonietta as an artistic partner at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, is known for her passionate and dynamic conducting style, and is a compelling communicator and innovative leader on and off the podium. Chen is a sought-after conductor who continues to expand her relationships with orchestras worldwide and has conducted over 110 orchestras to date. She has served as music director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011 and began her tenure as chief conductor of Austria’s Grosses Orchester Graz in fall 2021. Other recent posts include Sweden’s Gävle and Helsingborg Symphonies and the first-ever artistic partner of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Texas.
Felix Mendelssohn’s String Sinfonia No. 11 in F Major/minor opens the program. From ages 12-14, Mendelssohn wrote 13 numbered symphonies for strings paying homage to W.A. Mozart, Joseph Haydn and other well-known classical symphonists of the day. Over five movements, the sinfonia shows a scale and inventiveness belying the young age at which it was composed.
“Bishop’s Processional” for violin and string orchestra by Nokuthula Ngwenyama follows. Ngwenyama is an American composer and violist of Zimbabwean-Japanese heritage born in Los Angeles. Her works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony, London Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and many others. “Bishop’s Processional” was commissioned by the largest Black church in Phoenix, to commemorate their bishop’s 35th year with the congregation.
Northwest Sinfonietta oboists Shannon Spicciati and Noelle Burns are featured as soloists in “Extra(ordinarily) Fancy” by American composer Viet Cuong. The concerto for two oboes and chamber orchestra plays homage to the baroque era double oboe concertos by Marcello, Vivaldi and Albinoni in the singular composer’s wildly inventive and whimsical style.
The program closes with Austrian-American composer Erich Korngold’s “Much Ado About Nothing” Op. 11, a suite of incidental music written for Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Korngold was a compositional prodigy as a youth who was frequently compared to Mendelssohn. Following his move to Hollywood in the 1930’s due to the rise of the Nazi regime, Korngold became known for his breathtaking cinematic scores which have cemented his legacy as one of the most influential composers in Hollywood history.
Tickets $22-50. Student, military and group discounts available. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: www.nwsinfonietta.org.
The Northwest Sinfonietta 2022-2023 season continues March 4 and 5 with “Fate Now Conquers” featuring works by Florence Price, Carlos Simon, Ludwig v. Beethoven and more.
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About the Northwest Sinfonietta: The Northwest Sinfonietta was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist Kathryn Habedank and conductor Christophe Chagnard. The 35-member ensemble is the premiere chamber orchestra in the Puget Sound region and blends the intimacy of chamber music with the power of a full orchestra. In 2015, the Northwest Sinfonietta became one of the few orchestras in the world to move to an Artistic Partner model of operations, giving the musicians of the ensemble a larger role in the programming and vision for the ensemble. Learn more about the orchestra at: www.nwsinfonietta.org.