By Ben Macintosh
Dr. Karem Simon discusses the powerful music being preformed at tomorrow’s symphony (Photo credits: Ben Macintosh)
The UPEI Wind Symphony is preparing for a special performance to end the fall semester.
This Thursday, Nov. 21, the symphony will be performing at 7:30 P.M. in the Homburg Theatre in Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Karem Simon, conductor of the UPEI Wind Symphony, says the main piece of this performance is Into the Silent Land by Steve Danyew.
The piece reflects on the Sandy Hook School Shooting where 26 people, including 20 students, were killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut. Danyew attended Sandy Hook from grades 3-5.
Simon says the piece is a very moving one.
“It’s a powerfully emotional piece of music. When I first heard it I wept and just about anytime I hear it I weep,†he said.
Into the Silent Land incorporates a part of Christina Rossetti’s poem Remember, which will be read by Johanna Forbes who is a Grade 6 student a Springpark Elementary School.
Simon says the Homburg Theatre is a very different venue than the Steel Recital Hall at UPEI.
“First and foremost it’s a first-class facility. We have on campus the Dr. Steel recital hall which is just lovely but it cannot serve the symphonic sound produced by our wind symphony.â€
The Symphony will also be playing Gustav Holst’s First Suite in Eb, which is prominent in the group’s repertoire. Another featured piece is Oscar Navarro’s piece The Fly. UPEI’s new brass professor is the soloist for the concert he will be featured in Guilmant’s Morceau Symphonique.
Simon described the Homburg Theatre is a fitting venue for these pieces.
Along with better sounds, the Homburg Theatre has better sightlines and can seat around 1100 people, while the Steel Recital Hall seats around 200.
“At the centre, the music can be heard and viewed, in an aesthetic environment suited for the group,†he said.
This recital will be the Wind Symphony’s last performance of the fall semester, Simon says people should take advantage of this opportunity.
“What I would really like is for the campus community to come out to this,†he said.
The recital starts at 7:30 P.M. at the Homburg Theatre and will end around 9 P.M. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults, they are available in the Steel building while supplies last and are also available at the Confederation Centre Box office.
