NEWS RELEASE
Date: December 28, 2019
For Immediate Release
Photos Available Upon Request
Contact: Lexi Locke
Phone: 417.864.6683
Cell: 417.860.9690
lexi@springfieldmosymphony.org
Springfield Symphony to feature 2018 Hellam Competition winner and Springfield Youth Symphony
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Springfield Symphony will feature the 2018 Hellam Young Artists’ Competition winner, Graeme Steele Johnson on Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and the Springfield Youth Symphony on Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture at its classical concert Does Art Give Life Meaning? on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.
“The Mozart Clarinet Concerto is a perennial audience favorite,” said Kyle Wiley Pickett, music director/conductor for the Springfield Symphony. “It is so familiar and gracious, and our Hellam Competition winner will do a magnificent job with it. Many people remember the second movement as featured in the film Out of Africa. I’m also very excited to have the Springfield Youth Symphony joining us for a side-by-side performance of Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture. I love featuring these talented young musicians on stage with the SSO.”
In addition to the event’s enticing featured guests, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra will premiere its first performance of Hindemith’s Symphony Mathis der Maler. “Hindemith’s Symphony Mathis der Maler is one of my very favorite pieces,” proclaimed Pickett. “I’ve loved it ever since I played it in youth symphony. It is powerful, beautiful, passionate, and glorious. I know it will be less familiar to our audiences than a Beethoven Symphony, but it has a wonderful story attached to it, and I know people will really enjoy it. I will be talking about the story behind the piece from the stage, and I will also be showing images of the painting, on which the piece is based.”
Pickett will deliver a pre-concert talk from the stage at 6:30 p.m. and pre-concert music will begin at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall box office, and can be purchased by calling (417) 836-7678 or online at www.missouristatetix.com. Ticket prices range from $10 – $40 and discounts are available for students and seniors.
Join Pickett at a free monthly event, Behind the Baton, at Springfield Art Museum on Thursday, January 10 (111 E. Brookside Dr) for the opportunity to meet guest artist Graeme Steele Johnson and to hear Pickett talk about the music that will be performed at the January 12 concert. The meet & greet begins at 5:15 p.m. and the program will begin at 5:45 p.m.
Pickett is available for any interviews or questions. Please feel free to email him at kwpickett@gmail.com or call at (417) 837-9422. The concert is being sponsored by Reliable Superstore (Presenting Sponsor), Stephen and Linda Paganini Brite, RMMC Certified Public Accountants, and KSPR.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and an Equal Opportunity Employer. Additional funding for all Springfield Symphony Orchestra programming is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, visit www.springfieldmosymphony.org or www.facebook.com/springfieldsymphony.
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