Laredo Phil Opens 34th Season Sunday at TAMIU
The musical magic and power of borders shared comes to life when the Laredo Phil opens its 34th Season with “Shared Borders,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29 in Texas A&M International University’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts’ Recital Hall.
Laredo Phil maestro Brendan Townsend, now entering his 10th season of leading the Phil, said this season offers a musical journey focused on the U.S.-México border.
“For our 2013-2014 season, we are juxtaposing the brilliance of both U.S. and Mexican composers, with concerts featuring guest artists who further capture the uniqueness of a city that daily celebrates its shared cultures alongside its shared border,” Townsend said.
The season opener is dubbed “With Liberty and Justice for All” and features Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs on Alexandre Guilmant’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra no. 1 in D minor, Op. 42. The Symphony in three movements contrasts intensities between both organ and orchestra: sometimes massive, sometimes pensive and always uplifting.
Jacobs, who is credited with single-handedly reinvigorating the American organ scene, is among the world’s most sought-after organists. The Yale University graduate, and faculty member and department chair at the Julliard School, returns to Laredo after an acclaimed 2009 performance at TAMIU. His 2010 Grammy for Best Solo Instrumental was the first ever awarded for solo organ music.
Also part of Sunday’s program will be Amy Scurria’s Blessing of Liberty; Malcolm Arnold’s Peterloo Overture Op. 97; Bedrich Smetana’s Die Moldau and José Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango.
Blessing of Liberty was commissioned by Troy Peters and Vermont Youth Orchestra and celebrates the service of all members of the military. Arnold’s moving Peterloo Overture offers a solemn review of a dark event in Manchester, England’s history in 1819 when many in a crowd assembled in peaceful demonstration were massacred by misguided cavalry members.
Smetana’s Die Moldau is part of a series of tone poems crafted by the Czech composer to depict the countryside or legends of Bohemia. Similarly, the Mexican composer Moncayo sought to express music from Veracruz folklore using contemporary harmonic and contrapuntal techniques in his Huapango, which remains one of the most popular works in Mexican orchestral and popular music.
Tickets for the Sunday, Sept. 29 season opener are available online on the Laredo Phil web site laredophil.instantencore.comat or at the TAMIU Bookstore, Cantú Interiors, from LP members or at the concert itself.
Adult single tickets are $20. Season tickets are $80 for five concerts. Senior citizen tickets are $15 for single ticket, $60 for the season. Students with valid ID card and school children are admitted free.
Coming up Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013 is the Laredo Phil’s Annual Gala at the Laredo Country Club.
Next up on the performance Season is the new Friday Night Lites Cocktail Concert, making its debut Friday, Nov. 15 at Laredo Community College’s Martínez Fine Arts Center.
For additional information, visit the Laredo Phil’s website or its social media sites on Facebook and YouTube. A mobile app for both Android and iPhone is also available for free download on the Laredo Phil website.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu