String Orchestra and Warren Friesen
The Gustavus String Orchestra, under the direction of Warren Friesen, returns from a ten-day concert tour in the Midwest to present its Home Tour Concert in Bjorling Recital Hall, Monday, February 9. Titled American Patchwork, the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public
Artistic Director and Conductor Warren Friesen has programmed a concert of American music for string orchestra which explores the “intersection of the vernacular (folk, ethnic, jazz, etc) and art music.” He opens with two scenes from John Williams’ score to the movie Munich, followed by Carlos Salzedo’s Rumba for Harp and Strings with harp soloist Sara Bentley. The program continues with the Fantasy on a Hymn by Justin Morgan composed by Thomas Canning and Four American Folk Hymn Preludes by J. Harold Moyer. Next is Skylife by David Balakrishnan, nine American Spirituals arranged by Steven R. Gerber, and Peter Breiner’s five-movement Elvis Concerto Grosso IV.
Mankato East graduate and violinist Mark Wamma then leads the orchestra through the whirlwind Strings and Threads Suite by fiddler Mark O’Connor. This thirteen-movement work traces the history of the American fiddle from its Celtic origins to the modern day. The concert concludes with Metro Chabacano by Javier