Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) has announced that they will host the Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Community Connections Performance and Lecture Series. The free event will take place in the Mickey L. Burnim Fine Arts Center’s Floyd L. Robinson Auditorium on ECSU’s campus.
The full concert is set to feature:
- Morihiko Nakahara, conductor
- Rebecca Gilmore, cello; Christopher White, double base
- Giuseppe Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino
- Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5
- Christopher Palestrant: Mvt. III “Rondo ‘n Roll” from Soda Shop Suite
- Antonín Dvořák: Mvt. IV Allegro ma non troppo from Symphony No. 8
- John Williams: Cowboys Overture
- Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story Overture
- Frederick Loewe: My Fair Lady, Selections for Orchestra
- Alan Silvestri: Suite from Back to the Future
As part of the performance, an original work by Christopher Palestrant, Ph.D., ECSU professor of Music Composition and Theory and internationally recognized composer, will be performed. He joined ECSU’s faculty since 2001. Palestrant’s work, “Rondo ‘n Roll,” is the third movement of his Soda Shop Suite. Palestrant wrote the score at the request of the Virginia Symphony’s assistant principal cellist, Rebecca Gilmore and their principal double bass, Christopher White. It features the two musicians as soloists with the VSO. Palestrant notes that it is “a joyous piece, mixing popular musical styles like rock and roll with traditional forms of the 18th century.”
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required to attend. Sign up today by visitng the following link: https://bit.ly/3JCO2d6. The concert will also be livestreamed on ECSU’s YouTube channel.
