Get ready for the sounds of Nicolai, Copland, Anderson, Faure and Tschaikowsky to fill Alumni Hall.
The Hamden Symphony Orchestra will perform its Annual Benefit Pops Concert on Mar.10, at 3 p.m. The concert will feature a violon/cello solo by Tom Hudson.
Orchestra personnel manager, secretary and 32-year member Jan Jekel said the concert will help the future existence of the orchestra.
She said that it is very expensive to maintain such an ensemble and concerts like this one provide funds for the maintenance.
There is no charge for admission to the concert but Jekel said that a donation table is set up with suggested donations.
These suggested donations are $10 for families, $5 for individuals and $3 for senior citizens and children.
All donations go into an orchestra “survival fund,” as Jekel calls it.
Jekel said that a lot of preparation goes into putting on a concert like this one. She said that there are approximately eight group rehearsals prior to the show in addition to individual preparation.
She said that conductor Paul Gacek provides tapes of professional orchestras playing the same music at these rehearsals to show how it should sound.
Jekel said that approximately 60 people comprise the orchestra. This number includes “everyone from high school age to age 87. There are also three parent-child combinations,” she said.
Three Quinnipiac professors are also included in this number. Professor and Director of the Ed McMahon Mass Communication Center Lou Adler and Professor of Accounting Julia Brazelton play the violin. Professor of Computer Information Systems Bruce White plays the tuba.
All three will be playing in the March 10 concert.
Adler joined the orchestra a year ago and said the best part of his involvement is “the sheer enjoyment of playing with and, I hope, making a contribution to an organized, semi-professional group of musicians.”
This is Brazelton’s first year at Quinnipiac and her first year with the orchestra. She said that it is “a great recreational activity that requires 100 percent of my concentration, allowing me to ignore everything but the music. Besides, as an accounting professor, I love to count.”
White is in his second year with the orchestra and said he is excited about the music that will be played at the concert.
He said that excerpts from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo piece will be played, including the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” theme.
He said, “I think students will enjoy the concert!”
Jekel said that she is hopeful that students, families and senior citizens alike will attend the concert.
For further information on the Hamden Symphony Orchestra, visit their website at http://members.aol.com/hsorch.