Baylor Symphony Orchestra Concert Set for Oct. 1

by Richard Veit

The Baylor Symphony Orchestra will present its first concert of 1996-97 at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Jones Concert Hall. The orchestra will be led by Stephen Heyde, Baylor University's Mary Franks Thompson Professor of Orchestral Studies and Conductor-in-Residence.
The concert will open with a short piece by Baylor graduate Steven Stucky, chairman of the music department at Cornell University, whose compositions have been performed by most of this country's major orchestras. Dr. Stucky's music will also be performed at a convocation on Thursday at 4:10 p.m. in Roxy Grove Hall and at the Wind Ensemble concert that same night at 8 p.m. in Jones Concert Hall. The Baylor Symphony will play Steven Stucky's "Anniversary Greeting," written in 1991 to celebrate the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 75th birthday.
The "Concert Overture" of Daniel Sternberg was composed in 1945 as part of Baylor University's Centennial Celebration. Dr. Sternberg, who was then in his third year as Dean of the School of Music, went on to lead the School of Music for another 35 years. His "Concert Overture" was chosen as the winner of the 1947-48 Harold J. Abrams Memorial Award.
Jean Sibelius's Fifth Symphony is (after his Second) probably the most often played of his seven symphonies. It dates from 1915 and is particularly notable for its famous concluding movement, which ends with a series of widely spaced orchestral chords.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol" (or "Spanish Caprice") is one of the most popular works in the entire repertory of Romantic orchestral music. Imbued with the composer's typically dazzling orchestration, it is in five connected movements, three of which feature a Spanish alborada dance. For good measure, the colorful finale also includes an Asturian fandango dance. "Capriccio Espagnol" will be led by graduate conductor Allen Hightower.
This concert by the Baylor Symphony Orchestra is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Baylor School of Music at 755-3991.