For the Symphony’s first concert of the new year, we welcome guest conductor Giancarlo De Lorenzo, leading the orchestra in music from his native Italy.  I am often asked questions about having someone other than me leading the orchestra.  After all, you never see guest football coaches!  Well, I think that it is good for the musicians and the audience alike to hear the orchestra under different leadership–they choose different music, emphasize different things artistically, and have a different musical outlook than I do.  Maestro De Lorenzo will bring a wealth of experience conducting opera and symphonic music throughout Europe to us here in Central Louisiana.

This concert comprises music from the Italian Baroque through the 20th Century.  There will be two pieces by Baroque-era composer Antonio Vivaldi, including the “Il Gardollino” flute concerto, featuring the Symphony’s wonderful first flutist, Judith Hand.  The orchestra will also perform two pieces from Italy’s best known 20th Century composer, Ottorino Respighi.   Respighi is best known for colorful, bombastic pieces such as “The Pines of Rome”, but these two pieces are written for smaller orchestra and take their inspiration from the past.  His “Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3” is a charming piece written just for the strings of the orchestra.  Rounding out the concert is his “Three Botticelli Pictures” which are inspired by paintings of the artist Sandro Botticelli, who lived in the late 1400’s.  Respighi’s colorful and impressionistic use of the orchestra makes this one of the most special pieces of the past century.

It will be a lovely afternoon of music on Sunday, January 31st at 2:30pm in the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center.  You can purchase tickets by calling (318) 442-9709 or visiting www.rapidessymphony.org.  Our Holiday Ticket Special is also still going, so you can purchase a pair of tickets for the remaining three concerts of the season for just $60.  That’s just $30.00 per person—$10.00 per ticket—for the remaining concerts, including Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” in May.   Hope to see you all there!