Symphoria’s Nov. 18 Masterworks concert, conducted by Music Director Lawrence Loh, will fill the stage at the Oncenter Crouse-Hinds Theater. Its major work, “Carmina Burana,” will feature the orchestra, Syracuse University Oratorio singers, and members of the Syracuse Youth Chorus. A special offer of free seats for active and veteran military personnel should also ensure a full audience for one of the biggest concerts of the season.
Loh says Carl Orff’s 1937 cantata has been a favorite of Symphoria in the past, and he counts Syracuse University Oratorio Society director John Warren as one of his favorite collaborators. Loh said they are working with “exceptionally talented soloists” Katherine White, soprano; Jack Swanson, tenor, and Benjamin Taylor, baritone. This will be the debut appearance of Symphoria with the Syracuse Youth Chorus, led by Katie Weber and Sabine Krantz.
More than 1,000 songs and poems from the 13th century compose the complete collection of works known as “Songs of Beuren,” first published in Germany in 1847. The songs, which celebrate life’s lusty pleasures, were composed in Latin, German and French.
Orff discovered the 1934 English translation, titled “Wine, Women and Song,” from which he chose 24 pieces to set to music. Most familiar to the audience will be the often-performed “O Fortuna,” heard in movies and television shows such as “Excalibur,” “The Doors,” and “The Simpsons.”
The contemporary opening selection of the concert, “A Joyous Trilogy, will be conducted by its composer, Quinn Mason. Having a composer conduct his own work is a first for Symphoria, and Loh said he welcomes the opportunity to introduce Mason to Central New York orchestral music lovers and share the stage with him.
Mason’s three-movement piece, composed in 2019 and revised in 2021, is performed without pauses in approximately 15 minutes. In describing the large orchestral work, the composer has written he wanted to create music that embodied happiness, one that would put listeners in a good mood. Among his many awards for composition, he holds prizes from the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, American Composers Forum, and ASCAP. Born in 1996, Mason is based in Dallas.
Maurice Ravel’s 1920 choreographic poem for orchestra, “The Valse,” rounds out the first half of the program. The composer described the work, as “a dancing, whirling, almost hallucinatory ecstasy, an increasingly passionate and exhausting whirlwind of dancers, who are overcome and exhilarated by nothing but the waltz.”
“Carmina Burana” is the final Masterworks concert of 2023; next in the series will be “The Four Seasons” with violin soloist Rachel Barton Pine in January 2024.
DETAILS
What: Masterworks with Lawrence Loh conducting
Where: Oncenter Crouse-Hinds Theater, 421 Montgomery St.
When: Saturday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Run Time: Two hours with one intermission
Conductor Talk: Free for ticket holders at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: Free for Veterans and one guest with code PARADE23; free 18 and under to $90 based on seat choice; student discount with I.D.
Purchase: 315-299-5598 or experiencesymphoria.org
Shuttle: Free at 6 p.m. from Dewitt at Hobby Lobby, Camillus at Costco and Liverpool at the Northside Church.
Parking: New: pre-paid concert parking at Equitable Towers Parking Garage. To access on the garage website, click the “Buy Now” button and select “October 7, 2023 – PARKING.” Symphoria ambassadors will be stationed between OnCenter Crouse Hinds Theater and the garage entrance on Montgomery Street before and after concerts.