Powerful! Vigorous! Dynamic! describes the Summerville Orchestra’s (S.O.) upcoming subscription series concert “Voices of Destiny,” a program that will bring to life the powerful voices of Verdi, Sibelius and includes selections from Disney’s popular Aladdin.
The Overture to Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi grows into an intense brass fanfare with stirring crescendos. The famous chorus “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco served as an anthem in the struggle for Italian Independence in the 1800s. To this day, Italy embraces the music as its unofficial anthem.
“Finlandia,” a tone poem composed in 1899 as an act of resistance against Russia’s oppression of Finland, is also on the program and is Jean Sibelius’ most beloved compositions.
In the second half, the S.O will embrace modern voices, including music from the video game “Civilization VI,” the Disney animated film Aladdin and the piece “Equus.”
Notably, the S.O. will be performing the world premiere of the non-vocal arrangement of “Sogno di Volare,” composed by Christopher Tin for “Civilization VI,” adapted from writings on flight from Leonardo da Vinci. Tin finished the arrangement only a few months ago.
A crowd pleaser, the S.O. will perform music from the 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin and the Suite by Alan Menken. This suite includes several sing-along tunes and will have you searching for a whole new world!
Eric Whitacre’s “Equus” was originally commissioned by the University of Miami wind ensemble in 1996 by Gary Green. The piece took Whitacre three years to complete, a process that returned him to an idea he was originally going to throw away! It’s a virtuosic piece for the wind instruments that starts at a run and never stops.
Get ready to experience the “Voices of Destiny” on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $2 for under 18 and $5 for college students. Purchase online at SummervilleOrchestra.org/Tickets
