From the Podium:

Winter Concert, March 2, 2008:

The Des Moines Community Orchestra is pleased to present its winter concert featuring music by British composers. This free concert will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, 2008, at Drake's Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, with a pre-concert talk at 1:00 p.m. in Levitt Hall, the reception room above the auditorium in Old Main. 

We will begin our concert with the world premiere of Women and Fairies by the contemporary composer Nimrod Borenstein. Featuring the vibraphone, this evocative piece was originally intended as one section of an unfinished ballet. We are sure you will enjoy the moods it creates. 

The orchestra will follow this with Eclogue by Gerald Finzi. This lovely piece features pianist Sonya Siebert and our string section. Using Bach-like polyphony, Finzi still maintains his own "voice." 

We will close the first half of our concert with Ralph Vaughan Williams' Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1. Vaughan Williams was an avid collector of folk tunes, and included them in many of his works. This piece is no exception, and offers us his versions of various tunes in a creative medley. 

We will open the second half of our concert with two selections by Percy Grainger. A friend of Vaughan Williams, Grainger also collected folk tunes, giving them distinctive and unique settings. Our first piece will be Molly on the Shore, an Irish reel. The second selection is Irish Tune from County Derry, also known as "Londonderry Air" or, when given words, "Danny Boy." 

Gustav Holst, perhaps best known for his suite The Planets, was also a collector of folk tunes, and a friend of Vaughan Williams and Grainger. He taught for many years at St. Paul's Girls' School, and wrote several pieces for their orchestra. His St. Paul's Suite is in four movements, and features some of his collected tunes. The final movement famously combines an Irish jig, "The Dargason," and "Greensleeves." 

We will conclude our concert with the Tam O'Shanter Overture by Malcolm Arnold. Based on a poem by Robert Burns, this piece describes, musically, Tam's narrow escape on horseback, while slightly inebriated, from witches, angered by his intrusion on their nightly revels. There are many great musical moments, but the best may be Arnold's uncanny depiction of bagpipes. 

I am certain that you will find much for all ages to enjoy on this concert, and the orchestra looks forward to presenting it. We do appreciate your support, and we hope that you will be able to attend both the concert and the pre-concert talk. 

Sincerely,

Carl B. Johnson, Music Director and Conductor