Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra: Vive le Concerto

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Sunday, June 5th, 2016
2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

As spring turns to summer, so the Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra turns to youth, once again ending its season of concerts featuring the winner of the annual Concerto Competition for Young Musicians.

This year’s winner, Joanna Lee – who is also a regular member of the NCO, will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D Minor, a work in 3 movements written when the composer was just 13 years of age.

When violinist, Jehudi Menuhin, first introduced the piece to American audiences the critics pronounced it “utterly charming” and admired its "lively jesting finale in the gypsy style". It is fitting, and a wonderful juxtaposition that young Mendelssohn produced a work to be played by our young protégé. This Parksville program, titled Vive le Concerto, also includes Serenade for Strings in E Minor written by a youthful Edward Elgar when he was just 25. Published in 1892, this is probably the earliest of his compositions to survive into the standard repertoire.

The third and final work on the program is African Suite, written in 1955 by Nigerian, Fela Sowande. This Suite consists of five pieces for String Orchestra and Harp, representing five varying moods. Two of the themes used in the Suite, "Joyful Day" and "Onipe," are melodies from the pen of Mr. E. Amu, of Achimota College, Gold Coast, West Africa. "Lullaby" and "Akinla" are folk-melodies from Southern Nigeria, while "Nostalgia" is based on an original theme, representing memories of "an African in England." The final movement (Akinla) became known to Canadian audiences as the theme of the popular CBC music program, Gilmour's Albums.