March 21-22 — POULTNEY, MIDDLEBURY — Now in their 11th season, the Champlain Philharmonic will take the stage on Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Ackley Hall of Green Mountain College in Poultney and Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m. at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury under the baton of music director, Paul Gambill. Sadly this will be Gambill’s last concert series with the orchestra.
The Champlain Philharmonic is an all-volunteer, community orchestra. Its members hail from Chittenden, Addison, and Rutland counties.
The program will begin with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, originally written as incidental music for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play, Egmont. However, by no means is this piece “incidental.” It is filled with the “soap opera” 17th century drama and a heroic drive that allows it to stand on its own as a frequently performed work. The end of the piece depicts Count Egmont’s walk to his execution. As Goethe instructed, the moment is portrayed as a ‘Symphony of Victory’ and not a lament. Egmont transcends his tragic fate. Beethoven reflects this with bold character.
Also featured will be the two winners of the orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, Erin Dundas and Nova Wang. The competition is sponsored by a Small and Inspiring Grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. Wang will be performing the 1st Movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A Major K. 219 and Dundas will be performing Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro. Dundas, a senior and Wang, a sophomore at Rutland High School, are members of the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra and have been accepted to this year’s New England Music Festival Orchestra as well as the Vermont All State Orchestra for which Dundas will serve as assistant principal and Wang as concertmaster. Dundas was the winner of the Anton Solo Competition for the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra and will perform as soloist with the orchestra for its’ twenty-fifth anniversary concert at the Paramount Theater in April. Dundas and Wang study with Peter Miller. The orchestra is excited to welcome these talented young musicians to the stage.
The Philharmonic will finish out the evening with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, known as the “New World Symphony.” Written during Dvorak’s stay in the U.S. in the 1890s, the symphony reminds us of the excitement and suspense of the unknown alongside the joy, nostalgia, and yearning of the familiar. Dvorak brings us full circle on his symphonic journey through these emotions with power and grace.
Tickets are available at the door for both performances for $15 general admission, $10 seniors and $5 students. Advance tickets for the Middlebury performance at Town Hall Theater may be purchased by calling the box office at 802-382-9222
