DANBURY, CONN. — The Western Connecticut State University Orchestra, conducted by world-renowned violinist Eric Lewis, will perform a “Winter Dreams” concert at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall on the WCSU Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The concert will be free and the public is invited; donations to support the music department will be accepted.

Miles Massicotte, a freshman from Bristol, Conn., will be a featured performer on piano. Massicotte began studying piano at the age of 10 with Yves Venne. In his sophomore and senior years of high school he attended the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, where he studied with Maryjane Peluso. Now a performance major at WCSU, Massicotte works with Associate Professor of Music Dr. Russell Hirshfield in pursuit of his degree.

Lewis, principal violinist with the Manhattan String Quartet and a member of the WCSU music department faculty, said of Massicotte, “Miles is ridiculous — he learned an extremely challenging piece in a month. It is very exciting what he is doing with it!”

The orchestra will open with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Divertamento” in D major. From the Italian word “divertire,” meaning “to amuse,” this light-hearted piece often was performed at banquets and other social functions during the 18th century. This work was Mozart’s first endeavor in the world of strings chamber music.

Next will be Piano Concerto No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven, featuring Massicotte. This piece, in C minor, brings the atmosphere down to a somber mood. One of Beethoven’s most complex symphonies, the 3rd concerto manifests images of beauty and pain while creating an aesthetic tension that keeps the audience immersed in the music.

Following a brief intermission, the concert will continue with “Danse Bacchanale” from the opera “Samson et Dalila” by Camille Saint-Saens. This driving, triumphant piece is from Act 3 and is a well-known concert piece for orchestra programs. It uses a full palate of orchestra sounds with woodwinds including bass clarinet, English horn, and contra-bassoon, full brass section, an array percussion instruments, strings and harp. The melodies are pliable, supple and need a flexible rhythmic feel.

The finale will feature Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “Capriccio Italien.” Tchaikovsky, being drained from completing his Fourth Symphony and disinclined to create anything more in the vein of traditional symphonic composition, used this piece as a means of escaping formal melody restrictions and to capture contrasting colors and brightness. Inspired by an Italian carnival, this piece represents folk songs and the sounds of a busy street, teaming with people buzzing about.

For more information, call the music department at (203) 837-8350.

 

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.