Symphony concert brings love in the air

The WSU School of Music will provide the soundtrack for night of romance, featuring the Symphony Orchestra in its first spring concert at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Bryan Hall Theatre.

The concert will include Shostakovich’s “Ballet Suite No. 1,” and the third movement of Hanson’s “Romantic Symphony,” conducted by assistant professor of music Matthew Aubin. Graduate student and Assistant Conductor Rachael Kone will conduct selections from Bizet’s, “Carmen,” featuring clinical associate professor of music Sheila Converse, mezzo-soprano.

“This is what I would call light Shostakovich,” Aubin said. “A lot of Shostakovich’s music can be bombastic, dark and big; this is elegant and more simplistic, but still contains his voice.”

The “Romantic Symphony” is a neo-romantic piece that features long, melodic lines and a heroic brass section. It gained recognition within pop culture when it appeared during the end credits of the film “Alien,” Aubin said.

“It has a lot of tension and release,” Kone said.

Kone is the first chair violinist as well as the assistant conductor for the Symphony Orchestra. As part of her recital requirement, she conducts in each Symphony Orchestra concert.

“One of the things that is important for a graduate student is getting to work with a solos,” Aubin said, “It is good to learn how to collaborate with soloists. Sheila, as a faculty soloist, is reliable and fits the voicing of the piece (“Carmen”).”

The selections from “Carmen” will open and close with the instrumental performance from the orchestra of “Les Toreadors” and “Danse Boheme” respectively. Faculty soloist Converse will sing the arias, “Habanera” and “Seguedilla.”

“The first aria, ‘Habanera’ is about how love is like a Gypsy bird; it comes and goes. When you’re looking for it, it runs away. When you’re not, it grabs you,” Converse said, “The second aria, ‘Seguidilla,’ comes from a scene where Carmen has been captured. She sings this trying to persuade an officer to untie her hands and free her if she will meet with him.”

The Symphony Orchestra just returned from the National Association for Music Educators conference in Spokane on Valentine’s Day, inspiring the romantic theme of the concert. The conference includes each of the seven Northwestern states and requires a tape and application submission to perform.

“It’s a real honor to be selected,” Aubin said. “It’s not just to showcase our students, but can also be considered as a recruiting tool.”

The Symphony Orchestra concert is open and free to the public.