The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rohan Smith, continues its 34th concert season with a concert entitled “A New Artistic Mélange” that will be performed at the Franco Center in Lewiston at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, and at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24.

The program at both concerts consists of three pieces from different centuries showcasing the evolution of classical music through the years. Beginning with Jessie Montgomery’s “Hymn for Everyone,” the concerts continue with Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony No. 38, and conclude with “Enigma Variations,” by Edward Elgar. Both concerts will be conducted by guest Artist Jinwook Park, a member of the Colby College faculty and the Music Director of the Colby Symphony Orchestra and the Augusta Symphony Orchestra.

Complete concert and ticket information is available at midcoastsymphony.org. Individual tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. All concert tickets are free for students ages 18 and under, or for college students with ID. Audiences are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance online or by calling the box office at (207) 481-0790.

Guest Conductor Jinwook Park is a conductor and violinist with a versatile career as a music director, performer and educator. He is the founder and the music director of Haffner Sinfonietta, and the former music director of Philharmonia Boston. Born in South Korea, Park received his bachelor’s degree from Busan National University and then moved to the United States where he received a master’s degree in violin performance at the Boston Conservatory.

He further continued his music doctorate at Boston University. Currently Mr. Park is a member of the Colby College faculty and serves as the Music Director of the Colby Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Augusta Symphony Orchestra.

“Elgar’s Enigma variation and Mozart’s Symphony No.38 are my favorite pieces, and I always want to conduct them,” Park said. “This is my first time conducting ‘Hymn for Everyone’ by Jessie Montgomery. She is an acclaimed American composer, violinist, and educator, so studying her musical works will be a good opportunity.”

He went on to say that he would “like the audience to enjoy the style, harmony, and melody of the pieces by different composers from different eras.”

“A New Artistic Mélange” continues a yearlong celebration of the 20th season of long-time MSO Music Director Rohan Smith. The concert begins with “A Hymn for Everyone,” a poignant reflection on the effects of the COVID pandemic by Jessie Montgomery, a recent winner of the 2024 Grammy for best contemporary classical composition for another work of hers.

The finale of the concert is “Enigma Variations,” 14 musical sketches by Edward Elgar reflecting a myriad of personalities in the composer’s life at the end of the nineteenth century. The stellar reputation of this inventive piece of music is well earned based on the depth and breadth of the human experiences it conjures to mind.

The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra founded in 1990. Started as a chamber orchestra, there are now more than 80 members. The MSO performs a full range of orchestral literature from the classical to modern periods with four regular concerts each season at the Franco Center in Lewiston and the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham.

A community-based organization, the orchestra draws players and audiences from south of Portland to Rockland along the coast, and inland from Augusta to the Lewiston-Auburn area. Its members all volunteer their time to practice and perform with the Midcoast Symphony. Under the baton of Rohan Smith, the orchestra continues to attract ever more professional-caliber musicians and award-winning guest artists.

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