Press Release: Beethoven Septet Program Features Innovative and Classic Chamber Music

Young Omaha Composer Winston Schneider to Premiere new work, Summer of COVID-19
Musicians to Perform Omaha Premiere of Caroline Shaw’s Boris Kerner and Robert Honstien’s Patter

OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 13, 2020 — Throughout history, composers have interacted with and been influenced by each other in ways that are often not obvious upon first reflection. Do Beethoven’s Septet in E flat Major and 12-year-old Omaha composer Winston Schneider’s new work, The Summer of COVID-19 (from the perspective of a 17-year-old-girl) share a direct musical connection? That’s the question answered by the Omaha Symphony’s upcoming chamber music program, Beethoven Septet. Both pieces, plus a menagerie of other chamber works, will be featured at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Holland Performing Arts Center Peter Kiewit Hall.

This innovative Centennial Overtures offering sees Omaha Symphony concertmaster Susanna Perry Gilmore joined by Brian Sherwood (viola), Paul Ledwon and Greg Clinton (cello), Nate Olson (bass), Carmelo Galante (clarinet), Nick Nelson (bassoon), Brett Hodge (horn), and Robert O'Brien and Derek Dreier (percussion). Repertoire will feature a mix of chamber music from the nineteenth century through 2020, with instrumentation employing the musicians in varying and exciting combinations. In addition to the world premier of Schneider’s newly commissioned piece, audiences will also see two Omaha premieres of work by living composers: Caroline Shaw’s Boris Kerner for cello and flower pots, and Robert Honstein’s Patter.

Program:


R. STRAUSS/arr. Hasenöhrl: Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders!

CAROLINE SHAW: Boris Kerner*

GLIERE/arr. Proto: Suite from 8 Pieces for Violin & Cello, Op. 39

ROBERT HONSTEIN: Patter*

WINSTON SCHNEIDER: The Summer of COVID-19 (from the perspective of a 17-year-old-girl)**

BEETHOVEN: Septet in E-flat minor, Op. 20

*Omaha Premiere

**World Premiere

Audiences may remember 12-year-old Schneider from his previous collaboration with the Omaha Symphony – the young composer’s Insect Suite was performed by the orchestra in February of 2020 as part of the orchestra’s Buzzing About Bugs family programming. His new work, which was commissioned by the Omaha Symphony, utilizes the same instrumentation as Beethoven’s Septet plus one violin. It speaks to this moment in a pronounced way as it utilizes a recording from the Durham Museum’s “Stories of the Pandemic” project as an artistic anchor.

“COVID-19 affected everyone’s lives worldwide,” said Schneider. “We heard and continue to hear about it every day. This is one particular story – a 17-year-old girl living in Omaha in the summer of the pandemic. One story out of the 7.5 billion people in the world. Her story is not a viral headline story. It’s a story like many of ours, a melancholy realization that life is not like it was before and each person has a different story.”

In a time when we continue to make sense of the new world around us, Schneider used music to help make sense of a collective experience through someone else’s eyes: “The piece started to take a musical shape after the main melodic motive came to me while riding in the car,” he reflected. “I liked the idea of using a solo bassoon to begin the piece, because, to me, it sounds lonely, almost like standing in the middle of nowhere all by yourself. This feeling of loneliness, to me, reflects the isolation we all felt during the pandemic summer. As the piece nears the end, there is even more of an introspective and melancholy texture that I felt would fit the text.”

Performances at the Holland Performing Arts Center feature physically distanced seating and will only be seated at a maximum of 30 percent capacity. Masks are required at indoor Omaha Symphony performances. The following changes have been implemented within the venue:

  • Enhanced Cleaning & Sanitation - Electrostatic technology disinfecting large common areas, enhanced sanitizing of high touch surfaces with hospital grade disinfectant and hand sanitizing stations throughout the venue
  • Heating and Cooling System – Upgrades to air handling units includes bipolar ionization filtering out viruses through ventilation
  • Staff Precautions – Staff and volunteers are required to wear face masks and receive temperature checks. Anyone with a temperature above 100° or experiencing symptoms will not be permitted onsite.
  • Touchless Experience - Faster and more efficient entry into the venues with touchless security checks, ticket scanning and cashless transactions

Find the most up to date public health information at omahasymphony.org/public-health.

Tickets for Beethoven Septet are $35. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.omahasymphony.org, through the Ticket Omaha app, or by calling Ticket Omaha at 402.345.0606. Performance dates are subject to change. In the event of performance changes or cancellations, the Omaha Symphony will email ticket holders to inform them of new dates and ticketing options. Patrons with questions may email ticketomaha@o-pa.org. The Omaha Symphony also regularly posts performance updates at omahasymphony.org, along with the Omaha Symphony’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages. Patrons can sign up for the latest updates at omahasymphony.org.

The Omaha Symphony is a non-profit organization that presents more than 100 live orchestral performances from September through June. In addition to Masterworks, Symphony Pops, Symphony Rocks, Movies, Symphony Joslyn, and Family series concerts, the Omaha Symphony’s nationally recognized education and community engagement programs touch the lives of more than 40,000 people each year. For tickets or information regarding the Omaha Symphony, call 402-345-0606 or visit omahasymphony.org. Programs, artists, dates, times, prices, and availability are subject to change.

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