The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society
P.O. Box 6682, Kamuela, HI 96743
www.kamuelaphil.com

27. February 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMUELA PHILHARMONIC PRESENTS THEIR SPRING 2010 CONCERT MARCH 21

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra will conclude its 2009-2010 concert season with a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Violin Concerto #5 in A Major," featuring soloist Rosalie Macmillan, on Sunday, March 21, 2010, at the Kahilu Theater in Waimea. Also on the program will be Mozart's "Overture to the Marriage of Figaro" and Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring." Admission to the concert is free. It is strongly recommended that attendees arrive at least 45 minutes before the 4:00 pm start of the concert, since seating is limited.

Internationally known violinist Rosalie Macmillan, a former violin student of Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Dr. Madeline Schatz, has performed regularly with the Utah Symphony and other regional orchestras since her debut as a soloist at age 13. Her talent led to first place awards at national and international violin competitions, and recital tours in South America, Europe, South Africa, Canada and throughout the United States. She has toured in Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Russia as a soloist with the BYU Chamber Orchestra, performing at notable venues such as the Cairo Opera House and Bolshoi Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. As a featured soloist in ballet, ballroom dance, theater and film productions, and at jazz, rock and pop concerts, she has also introduced classical music to new audiences. In addition, she has been on the faculty of the Violin Making School of America since 1998 and of the Utah Valley University since 2007. Her repertoire for violin and orchestra encompasses works by more than 20 composers, and includes three of Mozart's violin concertos.

Mozart wrote the "Violin Concert #5 in A Major" in 1775 while he was employed as a court musician in Salzburg. Composed of three movements, Allegro Aperto-Adagio-Allegro Aperto, Adagio and Rondo-Tempo di Minuetto, it is also called the "Turkish" concerto because of loud passages of music in the style of Turkish military bands interspersed with the main theme in the last movement. The years in Salzburg were a productive time for the composer, as he had the chance to work in numerous genres, composing symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, serenades and minor operas. During this time he also produced his only five violin concertos, each of which increased in musical sophistication, as well as several piano concertos considered to be musical "breakthroughs." Several of his works from this time period are still performed frequently today, and his last three violin concertos are considered mainstays of the violin repertoire.

Although Mozart had many friends and admirers in Salzburg, the low pay of his position there, his desire to compose major operas and the closure of the court theater led him to search elsewhere for work. Eventually he reached Vienna where he worked for years, primarily as a freelance performer and composer of popular piano concertos. In 1786, sponsored by Emporer Joseph II of Austria, Mozart finally produced a great comic opera in collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Their opera "The Marriage of Figaro," premiered to warm reviews in Prague and Vienna and led to further successful collaborations on the operas "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan Tutte". These operas are considered some of Mozart's most important works and are staples of modern operatic repertoire. The overture to "Figaro" is especially famous and is frequently played as a concert piece.

Aaron Copland's music is renowned for achieving a balance between modern orchestral music, with its percussive orchestration, changing meter, polychords and tone rows, and American folk music. He was dubbed the "Dean of American Music," because during his years as a teacher, lecturer, critic, writer and conductor, he was generous in helping nearly every young American composer he met. Copland composed a broad range of works for concert hall, theater, ballet and film, and favored composing music that could serve a utilitarian as well as an artistic purpose. Like his musical predecessor Mozart, Copland was an accomplished pianist and used themes from a great many sources in his compositions. His musical influences included Jewish wedding songs from his youth, standard classical fare, art songs and Post-Impressionistic French music from his studies in Paris, Russian composers- especially Igor Stravinsky, and American folk music and jazz. Copland composed "Appalachian Spring," which was commissioned in 1944 by Martha Graham and originally titled "Martha's Ballet" as a tribute to her unique choreographic style, borrowing the flavor of Shaker hymns and dances, including the melody "Simple Gifts." Once Graham took the score and created a ballet she called "Appalachian Spring," the music took on the same name. Copland later arranged the piece, originally for thirteen instruments, as an orchestral suite, which became one of his most popular and well-known works.

The Kamuela Philharmonic looks forward to continuing its goal of making fine classical music programs such as this available to diverse local audiences. With the help of The Kahilu Theater, our orchestra members and other generous community-minded donors, we have been able to keep our concerts free of charge, despite normal overhead and administrative costs. Any contribution you would like to make to our calabash in the lobby on the day of the concert would be greatly appreciated. Contributions can also be mailed to KPOS at P.O. Box 6682, Kamuela, HI 96743. Further information about our group and other upcoming events is available on our website: kamuelaphil.com.