The BYU Philharmonic will present European classics on February 16, and BYU Opera will present scenes from operatic dreams and nightmares February 16–19
BYU Philharmonic
Is there anything more elegant than an evening spent in a concert hall?
For lovers of concertos and classical music, the BYU Philharmonic’s concert on February 16 is sure to please. This concert will feature three impressively resonant works by Oswaldo Machado, Antonín Dvořák and Béla Bartók as the Philharmonic celebrates 60 years of performing in the de Jong Concert Hall.
The first piece, “Pygmalion,” is a work that won Machado the 2022 Barlow student composer competition. Philharmonic director Kory Katseanes will direct this piece by the BYU master’s student.
Graduate student Taylor Rhodes will conduct the Dvořák piece, “The Noon Witch, op 108,” which tells the Czech fairy tale about a witch who takes away disobedient children. Katseanes described the music as a “charming, clever and descriptive piece.”
At the conclusion of the concert, Katseanes will conduct Hungarian composer Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra,” a piece known for its unique style and intense difficulty. Because of its difficulty level, “Concerto for Orchestra” has only been performed one other time in the last 23 years at BYU. But while Bartok’s concerto is a challenging composition, Katseanes praised the ability of the Philharmonic students to rise to the challenge.
“This is what we live for as musicians,” said Katseanes, “[for] opportunities to play great music. . . . Many will come and be amazed by the students who played so well.”
Katseanes added that he hopes audience members will walk away having been “treated to a feast of sound and concepts and ideas.”
For tickets to this performance, visit arts.byu.edu.
BYU Opera: Opera Scenes
What do we do when faced with situations that appear too good—or too terrible—to be true?
This year’s program, titled “Dreams and Nightmares,” running February 16-19, will showcase BYU’s opera students with scenes from “Hansel and Gretel,” “Macbeth,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and more. With each scene moving fluidly from one to another, the performance examines the stuff that dreams and nightmares are made of—and how we can tell them apart.
Opera director Shea Owens said that the scenes explore how we perceive dreams, nightmares and reality, as well as what our human response is when confronted with situations that appear too dream-like or nightmarish to be real.
“Stories are an important way for us to connect with each other [and] to connect with emotions and feelings,” he said. The opera director added that he hopes the short scenes presented on stage will resonate with the audiences who attend in the theater.
“We go there to listen, laugh and maybe even cry a little bit,” said Owens. “We explore light topics as well as some deeper, more serious ones. So I hope our program will cause you to think, and maybe even start a conversation with someone else about some of these topics.”
Regarding the students in the opera production, Owens praised their eagerness to learn and their wealth of talent. “I love working with the students there,” he said. “They’re so eager, they’re so hungry to learn. It’s really gratifying to see them embrace a concept, refine a technique and really bring their characters to life.”