NEWS RELEASE
Date: October 30, 2018
For Immediate Release
Photos Available Upon Request
Contact: Lexi Locke
Phone: 417.864.6683
Cell: 417.860.9690
lexi@springfieldmosymphony.org
Springfield Symphony welcomes back former Hellam Young Artists’ Competition winners
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Springfield Symphony brings focus to kismet and life in its upcoming classical concert, What Is My Fate? The performance will feature former Hellam Young Artists’ Competition Winners Brian Hong and Alexander Hersh on Saturday, November 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.
“November’s concert will be full of beautiful, moving, and powerful music. It’s always interesting to pair Brahms and Tchaikovsky,” said Kyle Wiley Pickett, music director/conductor for the Springfield Symphony. “They are both romantics: their music is emotional and stirring and full of feeling, but they are very different in the way they use emotionality in their music.”
“I always say Brahms is the perfect combination of the head and heart,” said Pickett. “There is longing, pain, passion, and desire, but it is used in small doses interspersed with attention to structure, form, and truly intellectual manipulation of the notes. The Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello will feature two young performers who are both former Hellam Young Artists’ Competition winners. It will be really exciting to hear them together and see the way they interact as a duo on this virtuosic concerto.”
”Tchaikovsky, on the other hand, gives you absolutely everything,” stated Pickett. “He leaves you almost exhausted from emotion. It will be a fascinating study in contrasting styles, but both pieces on our program are gorgeous and just lovely to listen to. Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique Symphony is full of emotion and tragedy. It has been interpreted as a symphonic suicide note, or a meditation on fate in life and death. “
Pickett will deliver a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. from the stage and pre-concert music will begin at 7 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, November 6 (1111 E. Brookside Dr) for the opportunity to meet Pickett and hear about the music that will be performed at the November 10 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), Judith A. Hellam, Positronic Industries, Independent Printing, KOLR10, KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, and Pioneer Outdoor.
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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