The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Rohan Smith, will present “The Orchestra on Display” for a pair of shows this weekend.
The group will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Orion Center in Topsham.
The concert features MSO musicians Carol Preston (violin), Karen Jung (cello), Kristen Fox (oboe), and David Joseph (bassoon) in solo roles in Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante for orchestra and solo instruments. Also on the program are the Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius, Langsamer Satz by Anton Webern, and Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare by Richard Strauss.
Before the Sunday concert, at 1:15 p.m. in the Orion Center in Topsham, Smith will give a pre-concert talk about the pieces on the program. He brings in-depth knowledge of Haydn’s work from his five years of performing as violinist with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, which performed frequently at Haydn’s summer residence at the Esterhazy palace. Smith is in his 14th season as music director of the Midcoast Symphony and has led MSO to critical acclaim in performances of the major symphonic repertoire from the Classical era to works of the 20th century.
Preston, violin soloist, attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and earning a double major in English. She earned a Master of Arts (Violin) from the University of Iowa where she studied with Allen Ohmes of the Stradivari Quartet. She maintains a Suzuki studio in her home in Damariscotta, teaching students as young as three years old, and has more than 25 years of experience as concertmaster of community orchestras in the Washington, D.C., area and the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra.
Jung, cello soloist, holds a master’s degree in cello from the Indiana University School of Music, serves as co-principal cello of the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, and is the Music Librarian and Coordinator of Research and Instruction Services at Bowdoin College. Prior to coming to Maine, Jung taught cello and graduate research courses at Southeastern Louisiana University and performed professionally in recording sessions, chamber groups, orchestras, and national Broadway touring productions.
Fox, oboe soloist, teaches private oboe lessons and is a freelance performer throughout Maine. She has been in the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra for about 25 years. During the day, Kristen teaches second and third grade at Reiche Elementary School in Portland.
Joseph, of Bowdoinham, joined the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra after a 20- year hiatus from music. He attended the Juilliard School as a student of Harold Goltzer of the NY Philharmonic and earned his Master of Music degree from Yale University as a student of Arthur Weisberg.
Tickets for the concert are $20 each, with everyone 18 and under and all students with ID admitted free. Tickets are available at the Franco Center, at Now You’re Cooking in Bath, at Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, online at midcoastsymphony.org, by phone at (207) 846- 5378, and at the door.
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