Andrews Symphony Orchestra's "Creation" Concert

Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Howard Performing Arts Center

The Andrews University Symphony Orchestra will perform on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. at the Howard Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Alistair Clarke, University Communication student photographer)

On Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. at the Howard Performing Arts Center, the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra will present “Creation,” its first full-length concert of the year. The Symphony Orchestra will perform four compositions, one of which will be conducted by graduate student Kristii Rasmussen, the Symphony Orchestra’s new manager and assistant conductor. Chris Wild, conductor of the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the other three compositions.

The concert will begin with Franz Joseph Haydn’s orchestral introduction to his 1798 oratorio “The Creation.” The first movement of this Classical work is titled “The Representation of Chaos.” Following this piece, the Symphony Orchestra will perform “Adagietto,” written by Gustav Mahler during the late Romantic era. “Adagietto,” for harp and string orchestra, is a part of Mahler’s work “Symphony No. 5.” Preceding intermission, the Symphony Orchestra will play Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” orchestrated for full orchestra by Leopold Stokowski, a former music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The piece will be conducted by Rasmussen. After the intermission, the Symphony Orchestra will perform “Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes” by Benjamin Britten.

In Haydn’s “The Representation of Chaos,” a vast and bleak canvas is depicted. In a full performance of Haydn’s “The Creation” this first movement serves as an orchestral introduction which precedes the arrival of an archangel, who declares that God created heaven and earth in the beginning.

Mahler composed “Adagietto” between 1901 and 1902, coinciding with his courtship and marriage to his wife Alma. The work is said to reflect a love song he wrote for her. They welcomed the birth of their first daughter in late 1902, a few months after he completed “Symphony No. 5.”

In his work “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” Bach incorporates technical advancements in writing for multiple voices into his complex fugue forms. While the piece was originally intended for solo organ, Stokowski’s adaptation for full orchestra is performed often.

Benjamin Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes” originated from his 1945 opera “Peter Grimes,” a work featuring singers. The orchestral interludes are located at the beginning of each act of the opera, providing an atmospheric setting for the unfolding drama.

Tickets for this event can be purchased at howard.andrews.edu and are $6 for general seating and $4 for students and seniors. There is a two-ticket limit if purchasing with a student ID.

For additional information, contact the Howard box office at 269-471-3560. For a full season schedule of events at the Howard Performing Arts Center, visit howard.andrews.edu.