This high-energy concert showcasing beloved classics and new Canadian works promises to blow away the February blahs.
Orchestra Kingston is inviting the community to shake off winter with a lively afternoon of dance-inspired music.
The concert, titled Magic Dances, takes place Sunday, Feb. 22, at The Spire. Doors open at 2 p.m., with the show starting at 2:30 p.m.
Under the direction of conductor John Palmer, who has led Orchestra Kingston since its founding in 2008, the program features popular works including Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, Franz Liszt’s Les Préludes, Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Johannes Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture.
John Palmer is not only the conductor and music director of Orchestra Kingston, he is also an accomplished brass player. He spent 42 years performing in the brass section of the Kingston Symphony and has played trombone with several local groups
Palmer explains that a lot of orchestral music comes from dance which explains the reason for the name of the performance.
Principal French horn player Cory van Allen will be featured in a new work for horn and orchestra by Canadian composer Jim McGrath.
Palmer praises both Van Allen and McGrath for their talents.
van Allen has been devoted to the French horn since he first picked it up at age 11. More than six decades later, he remains a passionate performer and a key member of Kingston’s classical music community.
Raised in a musical family, with a father who was a concert pianist and a mother who was a violinist, Van Allen chose to focus on the horn and built a lifelong connection to the instrument.
He performs with both Orchestra Kingston and the Kingston Symphony Orchestra and is known for his warm tone and steady presence in the brass section. Van Allen says he feels privileged to continue sharing the stage with fellow musicians and audiences in Kingston, especially when performing new Canadian works written specifically for horn and orchestra.
He explains what started his passion for playing the French horn.
The orchestra will also premiere Verve, a new piece by local composer Daniel McConnachie.
The show will be playing classics along with newer masterpieces written by Canadians!
Tickets are available through The Spires website.
Story by Alyssa Brush
