MUSIC: Spend an ‘Afternoon’ with Manchester Symphony

Journal Inquirer
March 31, 2022

Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale (Facebook file photo)

The music of Vienna, the gathering place of many of the world’s greatest composers, comes to Manchester High School this weekend when the Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale perform “An Afternoon in Vienna.”

Luca Antonucci will conduct the Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Carolina Flores will lead the chorale Sunday, April 3, at 4 p.m. in Bailey Auditorium, 134 East Middle Turnpike, Manchester.

This will be the first time since June 2019 the full orchestra and chorale will perform together.

Sunday’s concert opens with Mozart’s well-known overture to the Marriage of Figaro, arranged by Brandon Dicks for brass orchestra at the orchestra’s request. Dicks, a trumpet player, is a graduate of the University of Hartford Hartt School of Music.

The program includes two more works by Mozart, including one he wrote at the age of 12, Benedictus sit Deus, KV117 (66a). The soprano soloist will be Rhiannon Elliott, a Manchester Community College music graduate who is a senior at the Hartt School.

In Regina Coeli, KV276, the chorus alternates with a solo quartet. The soloists for this work will be Cathy Jeffers, Linda Helmke, Kevin Huynh, and Luke Scott.

Haydn’s music for the Te Deum in C, is a joyful hymn of praise

Other pieces on the concert program are the Schicksalslied (Song of Fate) by Johannes Brahms and Schubert’s Symphony No. 8

Tickets will be sold at the door, cash or check only. Prices are $18; $15 for seniors; and free for youths younger than 18 years, students of any age, and military personnel.

For information, call 860-646-0047 or visit: msoc.org