Friday Sep 27, 2019
7:30 PM - 10:30 PM EDT
Friday September 27th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 29th at 3:00 p.m.
Avon Middle School North
Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.HendricksSymphony.org or in person at the Danville, Brownsburg, and Clayton Township public libraries, The Hendricks County Bank, Hendricks County branches of the State Bank of Lizton as well as the Hendricks County branches of North Salem State Bank. Adults $15, seniors (65 and older) $12, and students $5. Prices at the door are adults $18, seniors $15, and students with I.D. $7.
This being the premier performance of 2019-20, season tickets are also available at the door. Adult $60, Senior (age 65+) $50, Student $20, Family $125 (two adult and up to six student tickets).
Susan Sabol
Send Email
Invitation to the Dance
By Linda Samaritoni
On September 27th and 29th, the Hendricks Symphony, under the direction of Benjamin G. Del Vecchio and in conjunction with three local dance troupes, will present the Symphony’s inaugural concert for the 2019-2020 season, titled Invitation to the Dance. True to its name, the program consists solely of works derived from dance, including a hoedown from the last century and going all the way back to the eighteenth century jota.
Carl Maria von Weber’s tone poem, Invitation to the Dance, opens with orchestra and dancers from Curtain Call Studio for the Performing Arts. Originally a piano piece in 1819, Berlioz adapted it for orchestra in 1841. Invitation was the first waltz composed solely for listening purposes rather than dancing. The tone poem tells the story of a young man inviting a girl to dance at a ball. She agrees. They dance. They part company. Listen carefully. The vivace waltz comes to a halt—but the piece is not quite over. Remember: polite society always takes a moment to say, “Thank you and good bye.”
Spanish Dance No. 1 from La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla features the Flamenco dancers from Flamencóle, directed by Erica Dominguez. They also perform the “Entr’acte” from Bizet’s Carmen.
The first half of the concert concludes with the famous Bolero. Ravel enjoyed adapting old dances to new styles. Not only did he re-create the bolero, he also composed works using the minuet and the pavane.
Following intermission, the Symphony adds choral music to the dances. The Hendricks Symphony Chorus opens with Frederick Loewe’s “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady. A trivia tidbit: Julie Andrews was only twenty years old when she won the lead role of Eliza Doolittle on Broadway.
Curtain Call Dancers return with the orchestra for the Emperor Waltz by Johann Strauss. The composer wrote the dance in 1889 as a toast of friendship between the German Kaiser Wilhelm II and Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria. The work’s title allowed for each of the rulers to feel respected. Opening with a quiet march, the music crescendos into the waltz, which immediately softens to a gentle, peaceful melody before becoming boisterous in the joy of the dance.
The audience will be treated twice to the beautiful Shaker melody of “Simple Gifts.” The first is Sydney Carter’s “Lord of the Dance,” same tune, different words, and sung by the chorus. The second is the magnificent orchestral rendition of the same name composed by Ronan Hardiman for Michael Flaherty’s Dance Spectacular.
Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-Down” from his ballet, Rodeo, sends the audience home with a rousing reel performed by dancers from The Biz Academy of Musical Theatre. Based on the American folk song “Bonypart,” the colloquial version of Bonaparte’s Retreat, Hoe-Down is not limited to classical orchestras. It has been performed by popular artists such as Bob Dylan and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Listeners over the age of thirty will remember the theme from the 1990s advertising campaign “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.”
Sprinkled throughout the concert are short pieces as whimsical as “The Waltzing Cat” by Leroy Anderson to the raucous “Can Can” by Offenbach.
Stay informed on Greater Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce news, events activities. Signup for the Chamber news.
Learn more about our town. Access the town website here and see the latest news.