The Central Ohio Symphony will open its 45th anniversary Sapphire Season with many of the community’s gems on a dazzling display as the Symphony and Ohio Wesleyan University officially celebrate their decades-long relationship with a series of special events to welcome new Ohio Wesleyan University President Matt vandenBerg and his family to Delaware.
“The Central Ohio Symphony and OWU share a special bond that is 45 years strong,” said Warren Hyer, executive director of the Symphony. “President vandenBerg’s energy, commitment, and passion for OWU is palpable and the Symphony is proud to welcome him to a distinguished tradition. The Symphony’s entire musical life has been tied to Ohio Wesleyan’s incredible performance spaces, with the Symphony having performed more than 300 times on the OWU campus, in Gray Chapel, and the free 4th of July concert at Phillips Glen.”
Prior to the 7:30 p.m., Oct 21 concert, small student ensembles in Ohio Wesleyan’s music programs will perform in Gray Chapel for concertgoers. The Symphony and the City of Delaware will welcome President vandenBerg and his family with a proclamation by Delaware City Council, presented by Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle. Ohio Wesleyan students will also join the audience as ambassadors, assisting with way-finding and ushering for the concert.
“We are thrilled to invite the community and OWU alumni to join us for this special evening,” said Katie Webster, director of alumni engagement. “It’s impossible not to feel excitement about OWU’s future after spending time with President vandenBerg and we are fortunate to have the wonderful Central Ohio Symphony on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus for this special concert.”
Once the concert itself begins, it will include a performance of Ohio Wesleyan’s alma mater with an entirely new orchestral version commissioned by the Symphony. Hyer says the new arrangement will complement the night’s celebratory spirit.
The concert program features the Ohio premiere of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s “Cold Mountain Suite” from her opera. The Symphony is proud to be one of the commissioning orchestras of this new work.
Miguel del Aguila’s Violin Concerto with world-renowned violinist Guillermo Figueroa (artistic director of the Santa Fe Symphony) on violin, and then, following a brief intermission, Camille Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 (The Organ Symphony) featuring Ohio Wesleyan’s magnificent Rexford Keller Organ, built by the Klais Organ Company of Bonn, Germany.
Individual tickets are available online at the Symphony website at www.centralohiosymphony.org, by calling the Symphony at 740-362-1799, or in person from the Symphony office at 20 W. Central Ave. in downtown Delaware.
The Symphony is supported by the Ohio Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Delaware, and through partnerships with the Delaware City Schools and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Submitted by the Central Ohio Symphony.
