HYANNIS – The Cape Symphony will be paying tribute to its past at a series of special concerts to celebrate the group’s 60th anniversary.
“We actually found the very first program given by the Cape Symphony almost exactly sixty years ago. We looked at it and thought this would make a really interesting show,” Conductor and Artistic Director Jung-Ho Pak said.
The first half of the performance will recreate the inaugural concert with pieces from Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ralph Vaughn Williams, and a performance by pianist Jon Nakamatsu, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his gold medal win of the Van Cliburn piano competition.
When looking over the first Cape Symphony concert program, Pak was surprised to see an established opera star Beverly Sills performed with the group back in 1962 when it was just starting out.
The symphony has invited soprano Abigail Rethwisch to join this year to sing the same arias Sills did six decades ago.
Symphony Executive Director Michael Albaugh said the group will also announce its ‘60 for 60’ campaign to help the people of Ukraine by partnering with World Central Kitchen.
With the ongoing international crisis in mind, Albaugh stated the performance will begin with acknowledgements supporting the symphony’s commitment to “working together, support for the community, and acknowledging the tragedy that’s going on here and the effect that is has on the world.”
“Our concerts are moments of epiphany for our audience and community to really come together, to make a difference,” Pak said.
The performances will take place at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center on Saturday April 2nd at 7:30pm and Sunday April 3rd at 3:00pm. For more information, head to the Cape Symphony’s website.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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