Boston University Chamber Orchestra

Concluding this semester’s series of orchestral concerts, Boston University Chamber Orchestra conducted by Sarah Ioannides presents a program of comedy, romantic landscapes, and the pioneering American spirit.

• Rossini’s Overture to the Barber of Seville (1816) was interestingly composed for a different opera (seria) entirely, Aureliano in Palmira (1813), It was subsequently used for a historical opera, Elizabeth, Queen of England, showcasing the multifaceted compositional prowess Rossini possessed. This overture leads into rather lush pastures with pioneering Venezuelan composer, Teresa Carreño’s Serenade for Strings (1895). The string serenade lineage can be traced back to other famous works such as Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1787), however Carreño forgoes the traditional construction of a string serenade and instead paints a picturesque panorama of the pastures in Pertisau, a small village in the Austrian Alps. From the pastures of Pertisau, Aaron Copland transports us to the open prairie landscapes of the American Frontier with his Appalachian Spring Suite (1945.) Originally a ballet commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Copland displays a story of a pioneering couple beginning their new life on the frontier. The suite presents 8 different sections from the ballet, ending with variations of the famous Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.”

• Repertoire: Rossini: Barber of Seville Overture • Carreno: Serenade for Strings • Copland: Appalachian Spring • Stravinsky: Suite No.2 7’ or Mvts from Shostakovich Jazz Suite1/Variety for Orchestra (Jazz Suite No.2)

• This concert is free and open to the public.