HYANNIS – The Cape Symphony is opening its 2019-20 season with a nature-themed project titled “Beethoven on the Cape”.
An original multimedia project titled “Soaring Over the Sound” will also be part of the nature-themed season, including aerial footage by Thomas Chartrand of Shoreline Media alongside music from Mathew Correia.
“I’ve seen some of the footage already,” said Cape Symphony Director and Conductor Jung-Ho Pak.
“I’m so excited. It’s just zooming over these ponds and these beaches. We’re going to set this to music—live music. We’re commissioning a composer right now and at this concert we’re going to perform this live.”
Correia’s music was sponsored by the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT), showing the partnership between music, media, and conservationists for the nature-themed concert.
Another piece featured in the concert will be “Oceana,” written by award-winning composer Stella Sung.
Sung served as the Composer-In-Residence for Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and has had her music performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Cincinnati Pops.
Her piece “Oceana” will be paired with film from photographer Annie Crawley.
Crawley was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2010 and has worked around the globe in places like Indonesia, Galapagos, and Australia.
The Beethoven performance itself will feature his “Pastoral Symphony,” another nature-inspired arrangement that calls upon the sounds of birds, babbling brooks, and inclement weather.
“It was a time when Beethoven went into the country and, basically, wrote a symphonic story of what it’s like to be riding in a carriage and taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of nature. There’s even a storm—a big storm that’s cataclysmic and you can feel the wind and the rain. It’s very, very exciting,” said Pak.
“Secret of the Wind and Birds”, written by Chinese composer Tan Dun and commissioned by Carnegie Hall originally for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States, will also feature in the production.
Dun has composed scores for many movies, and won the Oscar for his “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” score in 2000.
His piece is unique in its blending of eastern and western themes and its use of bird calls played on smart phones during the performance.
The “Beethoven on the Cape” concert takes place on Saturday, September 21 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, September 22 at 3 pm at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center in Hyannis.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit capesymphony.org or call the box office at 508-362-1111.
About Grady Culhane
