Conventional orchestra concerts generally contain three pieces of music: an overture, a concerto, and a symphony. The East Metro Symphony Orchestra almost never performs conventional concerts, so when it’s time to explain exactly what is going to happen at our performances, especially in a more unusual program – such as our upcoming Celebration of Finnish
Director’s Corner
A Celebration of Finnish Folk Music
It all started with a guy named Bud People often wonder how some of our more unusually collaborative programs come into being. As we make the final touches on our upcoming Celebration of Finnish Music, there is a tale to tell about how the idea of creating a program as part of an international celebration
The Boy with the Shiny “Kay” Cello
or, the serendipity of programming for a community orchestra Reconnecting I first laid eyes on Gary Stucka at my first rehearsal of the Park View School Orchestra, in my hometown of Morton Grove, Illinois. I was in fourth grade, and had just recently begun to study the violin (a full year after others had begun
Scheherazade’s Tales: A Fools’ Errand?
Once upon a time A brokenhearted sultan was taking his vengeance on all women – having put his beloved wife to death upon learning of her infidelity – by taking a new bride each evening and putting her to death the next morning. He reasoned by doing so he could enjoy the companionship of a
Aisling Gheal: A Visionary Collaborative
Read more about the collaboration with the Center for Irish Music for our upcoming concert this weekend! Join us for our concert on Sunday, March 8, 2015 – 3:00PM at the Loft Stage at East Ridge High School, 4200 Pioneer Drive, Woodbury, MN. You won’t want to miss this one! Tickets are available in advance from an orchestra member or through
The Genesis of a Performing Partnership
(or, How is it that EMSO and the Trinity Lutheran Choir are performing Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang next weekend?) It turned out that the Valley Chamber Chorale already had their 2013-2014 season already set, but Carol mentioned that she also directed a fine church choir in Stillwater, and perhaps a shared performance between EMSO and her church
A Home Cookin’ Retrospective
Somehow while planning the 3M Orchestra’s 2002-2003 season, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to give members of our amateur orchestra the opportunity to step to the front as soloists and in small ensembles. This is simply not done with orchestras like ours, presuming that features should be left to the professionals.
More Concertos, More Friends
The East Metro Symphony Orchestra is presenting a concert this weekend featuring students and teachers from Woodbury’s K&S Conservatory of Music as soloists. This is the third season that we are presenting a concert featuring local musicians as soloists, and it has been a delightful process to explore all manner of solos with all manner
How in the world can you do that??
By using arithmetic + learning to dance A Facebook friend took one look at the picture of one of the pages from Petkov Stainov’s Thracian Dances that is posted on the East Metro Symphony Orchestra’s Facebook page, saw the meter of the music and exclaimed, “5/16!” When we learn how to play printed music in
Putting it all Together
One of the unspeakably-great joys of creating concert programs that meld seemingly disparate worlds of music is the unique, Eureka! moment that happen when the elements line up Just So. The thing is, it can be a long, oftentimes frustrating, frequently tedious, sometimes even panic-inducing road to get to that glorious moment of Eureka! Over