The Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College is happy to present the final weekend of major concerts in the 2016 school year. The weekend schedule includes concerts by the Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra, and the annual Brassworks! concert in Jussi Björling Recital Hall and three handbell choirs in Christ Chapel. Admission to these four concerts will be open to the public at no charge.
The Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Justin Knoepfel, will be presented in the recital hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 14. They will open with Bach’s Mein Jesu for String Orchestra before inviting guest cellist Sharon Mautner-Rogers to the stage to join the Philharmonic in performing Romance for cello and Strings, Op. 10 by A. Franchomme. The orchestra will continue with Carl Stamitz’s Sonata 1, Op. 14, Telleman’s Trio No. 1 for Violin, Oboe and Continuo and conclude with the String Symphony No. 7 in D minor by Felix Mendelssohn.
The annual Brassworks! concert will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 15 in Björling Recital Hall. The concert will include performances by the Gustavus Trombone Ensemble, Dr. Scott Moore, coach, the Gustavus Brass Choir, conducted by Dr. Heidi Johanna Miller, The Christ Chapel Brass Quintet, Dr. James Patrick Miller, and the Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Trygve Skaar.
The weekend will conclude at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 with the Gustavus Handbell Ensembles Spring Concert in Christ Chapel. Conducted by Dr. Chad Winterfeldt, the College’s three handbell choirs will perform in this Sunday evening concert. The Christ Chapel Bells will open the concert with a work by Michael Mazzantenta and a Sandra Eithun arrangement of the traditional spiritual “My Lord, What a Morning.” Chad will then lead the Gustavus Symphonic Ringers through two works, opening with a Jason Krug composition with guest violinist Kendra Frey, and a work by Michael Glasgow. The Christ Chapel Ringers will then perform Kevin McChesney’s “Now the Green Blade Riseth” before the combined choirs join as one ensemble to perform three McChesney arrangements of “Under the Sea,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Hakuna Matata.” The combined handbell choirs will conclude with Jason Krug’s “The Light of the World.”
Each of the concerts this weekend, whether in Björling Recital Hall or Christ Chapel, will be presented as a free concert, open to the public.