Britt鈥檚 2016 Britt Orchestra season begins early, with two days of concerts at Crater Lake National Park on July 29 and 30, featuring a world premiere commission by Michael Gordon that is inspired by the Park.The season continues with three weeks of concerts at the Britt hill in Jacksonville, Oregon, with highlights including headlining guest pianist Yefim Bronfman performing Prokofiev鈥檚 Piano Concerto No. 2, a collaboration with Oregon Shakespeare Festival company members that celebrates music inspired by Shakespeare and songs from recent OSF productions, the critically acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk performing Brahms鈥� Piano Concerto No. 1, a performance of Mahler鈥檚 massive Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), and a world premiere commission by Russian-American composer Lev Zhurbin.
老夫子传媒 Director and Conductor Teddy Abrams says, 鈥�When we perform at Crater Lake, we鈥檒l be combining setting with music in a powerful, meaningful way. We do that on the Britt hill on a smaller scale; the setting and music are so intertwined. The Crater Lake Project inspires and influences the whole Britt Orchestra season, and the big works we are presenting invite us to think about how we present our world in music.鈥�
The Britt Orchestra 2016 season includes seven programs at the Britt Pavilion in Jacksonville. Additional highlights of the season include violinist Ray Chen, who will perform Shostakovich鈥檚 First Violin Concerto; the return of the popular Symphony Pops concert, featuring Oregon鈥檚 own acclaimed jazz singer Halie Loren; a performance of Amber Waves of Grain, by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe; Copland鈥檚 Third Symphony; San Francisco-based composer Mason Bates鈥檚 Anthology of Fantastic Zoology; and Mussorgsky鈥檚 Pictures at an Exhibition. Mahler鈥檚 鈥淩esurrection鈥� Symphony will feature soloists Celena Shafer (who returns to Britt after being featured in Carmina Burana in 2015), and Lauren Eberwein, along with a 100-piece choir formed by members of the Rogue Valley Chorale and Southern Oregon Repertory Singers, under the direction of Chorus Master Dr. Paul French.
The 2016 season also includes a series of free children鈥檚 concerts in Britt鈥檚 Performance Garden. Seven engaging and interactive mid-morning concerts will be offered. The concerts will be created by Gabriel Globus-Hoenich and Jenifer Knippel, who return after leading a popular Britt children鈥檚 concert in 2015. More information on this series will be announced later this spring.
