UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Music at Penn's Woods,the annual professional summer orchestra festival, returns in June and highlights the music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Handel, paired with works by Schubert, Dvořák, and Sibelius. Concerts will showcase the talents of professional musicians of the region in a series of four performances - June 18, 22, 25 and 28 - in Esber Recital Hall, Music Building I on the University Park campus of Penn State.
Dedicated to artistic and innovative programming, the festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. June 18 with a performance featuring chamber music with piano. Handel’s Trio Sonata in G Minor, Op. 2, No. 5, HWV 390a, Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, K. 493, and Russian romantic composer Anton Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 32 will be performed.
The orchestra’s opening composition at 7:30 p.m. of the June 21 concert is Danzón, a Cuban-influenced Mexican dance. The trumpet concerto of classical era Czech composer Johann Baptist Georg Neruda, featuring faculty trumpet professor Langston J. Fitzgerald III, headlines the concert along with Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7, conducted by Gerardo Edelstein.
A chamber music concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m. June 25 includes a piano quintet by Mozart as well as a performance of Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock), with guest soprano Sarah Shafer.
The festival will conclude at 7:30 p.m. June 28 with Tangazo, a work influenced by the Argentinian dance of the similar name, a performance of Jean Sibelius’ third symphony and Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major (Triple Concerto). Penn State faculty members James Lyon, Kim Cook, and Timothy Shafer unite for this audience favorite.
The complete 2014 summer repertoire can be found at the new Music at Penn's Woods website: mpw.psu.edu
Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Eisenhower Auditorium ticket center at 800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are available at the door one hour prior to the performance. Tickets for the full festival season are $75 adult/$38 student. Single Saturday concerts (June 21 and June 28) are $28 adult/$15 student; single Wednesday concerts (June 18 and June 25) are $18 adult/$8 student. With the purchase of one Wednesday adult ticket at $18, tickets for all students 18 and younger are $2.
As an added feature, Music at Penn's Woods partnering with Mount Nittany Health and The Arboretum at Penn State, presents an evening of music performed outdoors within the garden rooms of the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens on June 10. Come early to enjoy the gardens. Music begin at 7 p.m. in the gardens and 8 p.m. on the event lawn. This event is free-of-charge.
About Music at Penn’s Woods (MPW): Music at Penn's Woods is a collaboration of outstanding professional musicians from the area and from across the nation, performing beside Penn State School of Music Faculty, alumni, and exceptional students. These extraordinary forces gather for two weeks of high-intensity music making that is the highlight of the concert year. MPW provides the most exciting orchestral experiences in the region - standing ovations are certainly a frequent occurrence.