The wait is over for lovers of symphony music patiently counting the days since the last performance.
The Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra will present its first concert of the 2024/25 season on Nov. 3. at 2:30 p.m. in the Sooke Community Hall at 2037 Shields Rd.
"The Sooke Philharmonic and I are very excited to start the new concert season and share three beautiful works with our devoted audience," said Yariv Aloni, musical director and conductor for the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra. "We hope you can join us and hear some of these selections performed live, including a marvelous Beethoven concerto performed by our young soloist, Filbert Zhang."
Zhang, a Victoria resident and student at Mount Douglas Secondary School in Saanich, studies with May-Ling Kwok at the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM), and is currently enroled in the Senior Collegium program. He took first place at the annual Don Chrysler Concerto Competition in April 2023, and performed in the VCM Spark to Flame event last year as well. Zhang will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2.
Beethoven is said to have written that concerto, which was written in the 1780s and published in 1801, with himself in mind to show off his virtuoso abilities and establish his reputation as a great pianist.
Also on the program are Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel Prelude and Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony.
Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel is best known for its prelude and children’s prayer theme. It is based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tale and was composed at the end of the 19th century.
Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony is known as The Little Russian or The Ukrainian, a reference to the Ukrainian folk songs incorporated by the composer in this work. The symphony was written in 1872 at the height of the Russian empire. Little Russia was a name given to the Ukrainian peasantry by the Russian upper classes. The symphony is a lively, melody-filled work, and is still frequently performed.
Tickets are available online at Eventbrite tickets and at Pharmasave in Sooke at 6716 West Coast Rd. Visit Sookephil.ca for more information.
