Lowell Chamber Orchestra to Open Third Season With Cosmic Works by Anna Clyne, Micah Roberts & More

The Lowell Chamber Orchestra will open its third season this Saturday, September 25, with music inspired by the cosmos. The three works by Anna Clyne, Micah Roberts, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, all allude to a cosmic object.

The program starts with "Hypernovae," written by Tennessee composer Micah Roberts. "Hypernovae" was written for the Lowell Chamber Orchestra's first ever call-for-scores. Roberts' score was measured against about other 120 from nine different countries, and the judges were impressed by its driving force and unusual orchestration. "Hypernovae" will receive its first ever performance at the beginning of the program, and the composer will be present.

Following a world premiere, the second work in the program will be heard for the first time in Massachusetts. Anna Clyne's "Three Sisters" is a concerto for mandolin and string orchestra inspired by the three stars that make the "belt" of the constellation Orion.

About her piece, Clyne says "It's a piece I actually wrote in 3 locations. And one of the locations was my apartment in Brooklyn that had access to a rooftop and I would sit on the rooftop looking at the stars, often seeing the constellation Orion, which is also known as 'Three sisters.' So just thinking about the stars, the passage of time, and that journey."

Joseph Brent will be the featured soloist of the evening. Called, "one of the truly exceptional musicians of his generation," Brent has worked closely with many of the great modern composers, and has performed with many well-known chamber ensembles, including The International Contemporary Ensemble, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, among many others. He is a published author of mandolin pedagogy, and has released a few albums. "By the time I was 13 I knew mandolin was my voice," says Brent about his musical career's beginnings. Today, Brent plays mandolins with 5, 8, and 10 strings, all custom-made for him.

The concert ends with the very well know forty-first symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Truthfully, Mozart was not thinking about Jupiter - the planet after which the symphony is named - when he wrote this symphony. According to a story, the nickname comes from a British publisher, who upon hearing the opening chords, thought of the thunderbolts of the ancient Greek god Jupiter. However, the symphony's majestic structure and use of instruments does compare with the largest planet of the solar system.

The concert is free to attend, but donations are most welcome. Audience is required to show proof of vaccination, and to be masked while indoors.

Learn more at: https://lowellchamberorchestra.org/

WHEN AND WHERE:

Saturday, September 25

7:30 p.m.

UTEC

35 Warren Street, Lowell MA

VIDEO: Interview with composer Anna Clyne about her work "Three Sisters."

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