The Colgate University Orchestra and conductor Marietta Cheng will perform two ‘tours de force’ of the orchestra repertoire at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29, in the Colgate University Memorial Chapel.
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More ‘ What: Free concert, open to the public ‘ Who: Colgate University Orchestra, Marietta Cheng conducting ‘ When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29 ‘ Where: Colgate University Memorial Chapel |
Debussy’s exquisite ‘La Mer’ will begin the program. This impressionistic work is a mysterious seascape in sound.
The second work will be Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G Major. Known as ‘The Heavenly Life,’ Mahler finds paradise through the innocent eyes of a child in this piece. Mahler was so attracted to the poem ‘Heaven is Full of Violins’ from a collection of German folk poetry ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’ (‘The Boy’s Magic Horn’), that he based an entire symphony on it.
The song, which is given to a soprano soloist in the finale, describes heaven as a wondrous place of singing and dancing, food and drink.
The soprano soloist for the Mahler is Trina Renae Miller, resident artist at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton. Miller has performed leading roles in Mozart’s ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ and Donizetti’s ‘Elixir of Love.’ She is also involved in the TCO’s Opera-Go-Round program that takes operas geared toward young audiences to schools around New York state. Miller also has an avid interest in oratorio, making her oratorio debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Bobby McFerrin conducting Bach’s ‘Magnificat.’
In 2003, she was the soloist with The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes with Cheng conducting the Dvorak ‘Te Deum’ and the Mozart ‘Requiem.’ She has also been the soprano soloist for the Faure ‘Requiem’ (Timothy LeFebvre, conductor) and the Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ in the Binghamton area. She is the winner of the Class of 2000 George Woodhead Prize for excellence in oratorio, which she received upon graduating from the Peabody Institute, Baltimore.
Hailing from Fort Bragg, N.C., Miller received her bachelor’s of music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master’s from the Peabody Institute.
For more information, a complete concert calendar, or information about the upcoming Chenango Summer MusicFest (June 17-20), call the Colgate Concertline at 315-228-7642 or 315-228-7010.