By: Ainsley Green, Arts and Entertainment Editor
On Thursday, Oct. 8, the Sunderman Conservatory Symphony Orchestra performed their first concert of the year at 8 p.m. in the Majestic Theater. The ensemble was under the direction of Ryan Kozak. The program, entitled “Tales from the North,” included orchestral literature by renowned Nordic composers.
The first piece on the program was “Karelia Suite, Op. 11” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), which contained three movements: “I. Intermezzo,’ “II. Ballade,” and “III. Alla marcia.” Karelia, a wilderness region in Finland and Russia, inspired Sibelius to write a triumphant dedication to Finnish identity, folklore, and natural landscape.
Before proceeding to the remainder of the program, Kozak spoke to the audience about his experience serving as interim director of the Symphony Orchestra. “It’s been a real privilege to be back here at Gettysburg myself being an alum,” Kozak reflected. “The last time I conducted this ensemble was in 2015 as a student, as the assistant conductor in this group. It’s a real pleasure to come back and work with these wonderful students and musicians.”
The second piece of the evening was a strings only piece by Danish composer, Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), entitled “Little Suite for Strings, Op. 1.” This suite also contained three movements, each titled “I. Prelude: Andante con moto,” “II. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato,” and “III. Finale: Andante con moto – Allegro con brio.” Nielsen’s first formal composition during his time in the Royal Danish Orchestra featured unique harmonies and rhythmic motifs.
The finale of the performance was the ever famous “Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46″ by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). This suite features four well known movements titled “I. Morning Mood,” “II. Death of Ase,” “III. Anitra’s Dance,” and “IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King,” which each depict the fantastical adventures of Peer with drama and grandeur implied by the original poetry of Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.
Audience members Ella Koup ’27 and Jeffery Torrieri ’27 had positive reviews of the performance and spoke on the impact of the concert as they greeted friends who performed in the Majestic Theater lobby after it concluded.
“I wasn’t sure at first what the title [of the concert] meant, but I learned it was Nordic music, which was really cool,” said Torrieri, remarking on how the concert expanded his knowledge of classical music repertoire. “I’m excited for what’s to come for the rest of the semester.”
Koup added “[The music] has a unique sound and they did a great job of performing it in this concert. I’m a big Grieg and Sibelius fan.”
Lindy Harris ’29 was one of the performers in the concert and serves as the principal violist. When asked about her favorite piece to prepare from the repertoire, she considered a piece that she felt brought all of the performers together. “I am a really big fan of the Karelia Suite,” she said. “It has a lot of fun instrumentation, like the horn solos at the beginning. It was a lot of fun to put together.”
The Symphony Orchestra will continue preparing new repertoire and perform their next concert on Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Majestic Theater.
