Flutist Stephanie Bethea described Gordeli’s Flute Concerto as one of her favorite pieces to play.
“I’ve gotten to know it so intimately,” Bethea said. “It has a wonderful interplay between flute and orchestra. The Indian rhythms combine with a Gershwin-like feel, and it flows continuously from beginning to end.
“Certainly it is the most challenging piece for me as a soloist, but I find that as I relax and enjoy the melodies, the listeners do also.”
Bethea is the featured soloist at the Skagit Symphony’s Light Classics Concert on Saturday in Mount Vernon.
Since 2000, Bethea has played principal flute in the Skagit Symphony. She has been featured soloist twice with Skagit. Last year, the symphony did part of the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto for the family concert. A couple of years before that, Bethea was the solo performer in the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto in C.
Her other principal flute positions have included Skagit Valley Chorale, North Cascades Concert Band and the Richmond Symphony in British Columbia.
She coached the flute section of the Fidalgo Youth Symphony and acted as flute clinician for the Sedro-Woolley School District.
Bethea says her other life when not playing with the Skagit Symphony is still “full of music.” She teaches music theory, ear training and flute at Skagit Valley College. She also has more flute and piano students at her home studio.
And yet “there’s still time to ride horses, hike and read,” Bethea said.
In addition to the Gordeli piece, Skagit’s Light Classics concert repertoire includes Malcolm Arnold’s “Four Cornish Dances,” Antonin Dvorak’s “In Nature’s Realm” and William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony.”
“I’m really looking forward to playing this concert,” Bethea said. “The audience is going to be delighted with such enjoyable modern music.”
Arts writer Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Skagit Symphony Concert
“Light Classics Concert”: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at McIntyre Hall, 2501 E. College Way, Mount Vernon. $20 to $35. 360-416-7727 or 866-624-6897, www.mcintyrehall.org.
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