Andrews University Symphony Orchestra in Concert

Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Howard Performing Arts Center

The Andrews University Symphony Orchestra will perform on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. in the Howard Performing Arts Center (Photo by Alistair Clarke, University Communication student photographer)

The Andrews University Symphony Orchestra will perform on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. in the Howard Performing Arts Center. The theme for the concert is “HEALING.” There will also be a pre-concert discussion at 7:30 p.m. with Chris Wild, conductor, Eliza Brown, guest composer, and students.

Wild states, “When I was completing my doctoral studies last spring at Northwestern University, I went to see the university’s production of Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni,” which is based on the legend of the notorious Don Juan. It was striking to me that the text and plot of this opera was still so relevant, being performed when sexual predators were being outed as part of the #metoo movement. This idea serves as the starting off point for the concert, which acknowledges interpersonal terror and offers a variety of musical and emotional pathways toward healing.”

Following the introduction to “Don Giovanni” will be Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s emotive “Melodia en la menor,” performed only by the orchestra’s string instruments. This piece offers an outlet for self-expression, and perhaps mourning, within the structure of a very slow tango.

Eliza Brown, a young and talented composer and professor of composition and music theory at DePauw University, will join the orchestra for a performance of her “Filaments.” As a metaphor for healing, her piece allows the listener to focus on small and fragile objects and, through the course of the piece, the solo violinist begins to find voice and confidence.

Composer Jean Sibelius is a hero in his native Finland, having composed music that helped shape the identity of Finland as it struggled to gain independence from Russia. His “Symphony No. 2” is one of the most popular compositions of symphonic repertoire. The conclusion of his symphony comes following the orchestra’s collective effort to build something wonderful together, which in this piece is an unpredictable journey.

Tickets can be purchased at howard.andrews.edu. General admission tickets are $6, and tickets for students and seniors are $4. For additional information, contact the Howard Box Office at 269-471-3560.

Chris Wild is the new conductor of the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra. His work as a conductor grew out of a love for teaching that has included work with orchestras, chamber ensembles and private cello students of all ages. Upon moving to Illinois, he led a pre-college orchestra program in DeKalb that doubled its enrollment, won multiple awards, moved into new facilities and added the DeKalb High School String Band, for which he arranged dozens of songs. He completed his BM and MM at the University of Michigan and recently finished a DMA in orchestral conducting at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

Recently, he has begun sharing his love for music in the YouTube video series “Great Moments in Orchestral History” and through teaching in the Andrews University Department of Music. In addition to instrumental repertoire, Chris has conducted staged productions and excerpts from multiple requiems, operas, musicals, oratorios, cantatas and motets.

The Andrews University Symphony Orchestra is the core ensemble of the orchestral program at Andrews. In addition to their current series at the Howard Performing Arts Center, the orchestra travels within the Great Lakes region as well as internationally. Since 2006, the orchestra has performed in Italy, Austria, Germany, France, the Philippines and Costa Rica.