As the final event of Oboist Joseph Robinson’s residency at Gustavus Adolphus College, the renowned New York Philharmonic musician will appear as guest artist with the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, Saturday, April 30. Under the direction of Douglas Nimmo, this performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel. This Gustavus Artist Series concert is free and open to the public.
Joseph Robinson ends his 28-year tenure as principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic at the end of the current season. During his time with the Phil, Robinson has travelled extensively with the orchestra, played in the finest concert halls in the world, and participated in numerous recordings. In February he announced that this season would be his last with the orchestra.
Mr. Robinson comes to Gustavus as part of this season’s Gustavus Artist Series and his connection with Gustavus’ principal oboist Johanna Johnson. This relationship began in 1999 as the Philharmonic sponsored a high school junior’s wish, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to play with a major professional orchestra. At the time, Johanna was battling Lymphoma, a disease from which she is now in remission. The Philharmonic gave Johanna the thrill of her lifetime as they offered her a chair in the oboe section for a concert at Avery Fisher Music Hall in New York. With this artist-in-residency and performances alongside Johanna with the Gustavus Symphony and Wind Orchestras and in her senior recital, Joe Robinson notes that he is simply “returning the favor” Johanna gave the Philharmonic six years ago, when she played with them.
The Gustavus Wind Orchestra will present works for concert band by Philip Sparke, Felix Mendelssohn, Leonard Bernstein, Karel Husa and David Gillingham. Guest artist Joseph Robinson joins the wind orchestra in a performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Variations on a Theme of Glinka, a work written for symphony orchestra in 1878 and arranged for wind orchestra by Clark McAlister in 1987.
Saturday’s concert with guest artist Joseph Robinson begins at 7:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel and is free and open to the public.
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