East Texas Symphony Orchestra Finale Set for Saturday
Posted/updated on: April 23, 2015 at 5:00 pm
TYLER — The East Texas Symphony Orchestra presents its “Sublime Finale” of the season this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the UT Tyler Cowan Center. The concert will feature soprano Shannon Mercer and Music Director/Conductor Richard Lee. According to press materials from ETSO, it will be “an evening of moving and powerful music.” Mercer will be featured in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Berg’s “Seven Early Songs.” Faure’s Pavane will be another featured piece.
Lee tells KTBB the concert is musically very special to him for a couple of reasons. First of all, he says, the Mahler and Berg selections have never been done in Tyler before. He adds, “They’re both extremely beautiful, spiritual almost, pieces — and I think part of what’s great
about music is that it’s a means that we can express or ask questions about these sorts of things.”
The concert is sponsored by the Rogers Foundation. Tickets start at $10. For tickets and more information, you can visit http://www.ETSO.org or call (903) 566-7424.
The East Texas Symphony Orchestra announced its programming lineup for the 2015-2016 season today. Music Director and Conductor, Richard Lee, also signed his second 3-year contract to direct the orchestra through May 2018. “Everything is getting better,” said Lee. “The orchestra is sounding great. The public interest is increasing and we’ve got more season ticket buyers and more single ticket buyers. I think there’s just general interest in what we do.”
According to a press release, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra seeks to engage, embrace, and excite the East Texas community through inspiring musical performance. The not-for-profit organization was founded in 1936 and is funded by grants and donations. They receive less than 22% of its funding through tickets sales.
“I think it’s really important that just in the same way there needs to be beautiful parks and there needs to be a rose garden in town, there needs to be an outlet for creativity in the arts and beauty. We’re apart of that,” said Lee.
