LSO and choirs kick off year with two concerts

Olivia Hendricks

From vocalists to violinists and with everything in between, a total of 80 new students joined the 270 upperclassmen already part of the Lawrence Conservatory this fall. Now, after their first three weeks of rehearsal, several of the Conservatory’s largest groups are ready to reveal their new ensemble sounds in the first concerts of the year.
The Fall Preview Concert will be Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. and will feature several of the Lawrence Conservatory’s vocal performance groups. Concert Choir, Cantala – the all-women’s choir – and the Viking Chorale will all be featured that evening. Paul Nesheim, taking the place of recently-departed conductor Richard Bjella, will be conducting the Concert Choir and Chorale. Phillip Swan will conduct Cantala.
The Lawrence Symphony Orchestra will put on its first concert of the season Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. Under Conductor David Becker, the LSO will perform “Finlandia, op. 26” by Sibelius and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4, F Major. op. 36.”
In addition, LSO Concerto Competition Finalist Sheri Muneno will be the featured soloist in Nielsen’s “Concerto for Flute.” According to Muneno, “Nielsen wrote this piece for a specific flute player he knew. When people listen to the Nielsen, what they are hearing is pretty much a biography of a person.” The Nielsen piece will be performed with a reduced orchestra section to highlight Muneno’s talents.
Admission to both concerts is free, and both concerts will take place in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Two of the Conservatory’s other major ensembles, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, will have their first concerts of the season the following Friday, Oct. 16.