Did the advent of jazz have any influence on what we call classical music?
Find out when the Mukilteo Community Orchestra performs its final 2016-17 season concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at Rosehill Community Center.
Music From the Age of Jazz will feature pieces from the 20th century by composers from France, Italy, Spain and Russia.
The orchestra will play Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” Ottorino Respighi’s “Fountains of Rome,” Spanish Dance No. 1 from the opera “La Vida Breve” by Manuel De Falla, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1.
Trevor Lutzenhiser, Mukilteo Community Orchestra conductor and artistic director, plans to present a pre-concert lecture beginning at 1:20 p.m. As always, admission is free to attend the lecture and the concert.
“I’ve selected these pieces to showcase works that were composed after jazz had become a popular phenomenon, and in some way reflects that,” Lutzenhiser said. “While each varies in the influence brought by the countries where the composers lived, together they paint a lovely picture of the era in which they were written. The Shostakovich piece especially reflects this.”
Shostakovich’s Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 is comprised of eight pieces. An energetic March features the brass and percussion sections. Dance No. 1 is bold, brash and played considerably faster than Dance No. 2, which has a rolling central trio with harp and bird like trills on the flute and adds an accordion to the score. Percussion and rattling tambourine give it a folk-dance flavor. The Waltz invites the listener to consider dancing and includes melancholy saxophone and clarinet solos. The finale ends with orchestral glissando and a brisk march.
“’Bolero’ is world famous, and for good reason,” Lutzenhiser said. “And we’re pleased to bring the De Falla (composition) to our audience. It’s a small part of a larger work (and) not performed often.”
The 2016-17 season marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Mukilteo Community Orchestra. The orchestra celebrated this milestone at its concert in March when it received an award from the city of Mukilteo.
March 19 was proclaimed “Mukilteo Community Orchestra Day.” The special day credited the Mukilteo Community Orchestra for “reaching the souls of our community for the past 20 years” and stated that “the sound of music from the many volunteer musicians have touched our lives and given us many wonderful memories.”
The Mukilteo Community Orchestra has been housed at the Rosehill Community Center since its founding and moved into the new Rosehill Community Center when it opened in 2011. In fact, the orchestra performed Beethoven’s “Consecration of the House” at the grand opening ceremonies.
Mukilteo Community Orchestra
The seasonal finale free concert — Music From the Age of Jazz — begins at 2 p.m. May 21 at Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Ave., Mukilteo.
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