STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Groove to the tunes of Leonard Bernstein and America’s other top composers when the Wood River Orchestra performs its fall concert on Sunday.
The free concert will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater on the Community Campus in Hailey.
The orchestra will celebrate the music of America’s powerhouse composers with:
- Selections from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story”
- A medley of Duke Ellington tunes
- George Gershwin’s jazz-influenced “An American in Paris” suite
- Aaron Copland’s triumphant “An Outdoor Overture.”
The orchestra will also perform the world premiere of contemporary American composer James Romig’s “Small Infinities” featuring Scott Farkas on glockenspiel.
Romig, a faculty member at Western Illinois University, created the piece for community ensembles. It features the age-old glockenspiel while empowering community groups to perform new experimental music.
“Never before has the Wood River Orchestra had the chance to be the first to play a composition and we’re very excited to premiere Romig’s ‘Small Infinities,’ ” said Hershey, the orchestra’s musical director. “This piece is unlike anything we have ever played before.”
Farkas, who will play the glockenspiel, is an associate professor of music at the College of Southern Idaho. He teaches percussion ensemble with a focus on creative experimental music, as well as folk music from Ghana, Brazil and Mexico. He also performs with the College of Southern Idaho Symphonic Band, the Twin Falls Municipal Band and the Magic Valley Symphony. And he has performed at several productions put on by The Spot.
The Wood River Orchestra was founded in2007 to offer community members an opportunity to perform past high school and college. It is comprised of more than 30 musicians of all ages and abilities and new members are always welcome.
It will perform a holiday program in December.