The University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra begins the 2011-2012 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series on Thursday Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. in Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center. The symphony orchestra, under the direction of Mark Cedel, will present a program of American classics. Tickets for the concert are $15 for the general public and $5 for UGA students with a valid ID, and are available through the Performing Arts Center Box Office at 706/542-4400.
The program will open with the Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein, followed by Charles Griffes’ The White Peacock. Griffes is the American contribution to the Impressionist period, which is characterized by the work of such composers as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The orchestra will conclude the first part of the evening with a performance of Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite, complete with a musical gun battle. The “dean” of American composers, Copland wrote for both the concert hall and the theater. The concert will end with a performance of Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2, “Romantic.”
This is the thirteenth consecutive year in which the 80-member, all-student symphony orchestra has opened the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series. The University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra is honored to be asked once again to open the 2nd Thursday series, which is always an exciting event as the first major performance of the year,” Cedel said. “This year’s program is a little different than some in the past and a great chance for us to do some unabashed flag waving, musically speaking.”
Established in 1980, the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty on the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions allow for year-long academic scholarships and assistantships for students and provides donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students of the music school at several levels of giving. In 2011, the 2nd Thursday series provided scholarships to 45 students based on faculty recommendations, academic achievement and performance ability. For more information and directions to the UGA Performing Arts Center, see www.uga.edu/pac.