Dr. John Fadial will be performing a violin solo at the Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concert.
Cool, crisp mornings greet people and remind them that very soon the snow will fly, while the leaves already are turning bright shades of yellow, orange and red. It looks like fall has come to Laramie again.
The Autumnal Equinox, where day and night are of equal length, is the official beginning of fall. To celebrate the transition from the hot, lazy days of summer to this cool, vibrant season, the University of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and the Faculty Recital Series will present a special performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Fine Arts Concert Hall.
Four Seasons was published in 1725. Vivaldi also published a set of sonnets describing what listeners were hearing. The sonnets for the each season will be read by Dr. John O’Hagan, a theater professor at UW.
To open the program, the ensemble will perform Vivaldi’s Sinfonia L’Olimipiade. The Sinfonia is the opening of a larger operatic piece written by Vivaldi that debuted in Venice in 1734. The piece was chosen because it was “unusual and exciting,” Dr. Michael Griffith, conductor of the orche-stra said.
A small group of 12 players from the music faculty and UW symphony will be performing with violin solos from music faculty members, Dr. John Fadial and Dr. Sherry Sinift.
UWSO is a 90 piece ensemble made up of mostly UW music students. “Auditions are held once a year,” Griffith said. However, some auditions can take place at the beginning of the spring semester if someone is interested, he added.
Griffith has been conducting the symphony since 1989 and has seen the ensemble grow in skill as well as reputation. He was named a Top 10 teacher by the 2012 graduating class and has guest taught at places like the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland and Shanghai University.
The ensemble tours throughout the Rocky Mountain region and has embarked on such trips as a week-long tour of Bolivia. They also recently accompanied the classic rock band Kansas, according to the UWSO web page.
Seats for the performance are reserved. For more information or to purchase tickets call 766-6666. This is a special bonus concert and is free to UWSO season ticket holders.
