The Snowbelt Symphony Orchestra presents “Simply Strings…and Saxophone” Sunday, February 19 at 4:00pm at New Promise Church in Kirtland. The concert, using only the strings of the orchestra, will feature alto saxophonist Tom Lempner in the Concerto in E-flat for Saxophone and String Orchestra by Alexander Glazunov. The orchestra will also be giving the Northeast Ohio premiere of a work titled in transit by Madison High School graduate Cooper Wood. Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg open and close the concert. The concert will be conducted by Snowbelt Musical Arts Association founder Greg Hillis.
Mr. Lempner currently serves on the music faculties at Cleveland State University and Notre Dame College. In addition to performing in the Cleveland area, he has performed in Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, and the Dominican Republic. He performs locally as a member of Ekklésia Reed Quintet, Cleveland Winds, Akron Symphonic Winds, the Night Owls, is in demand for recordings, and has given premiere performances of works by more than a dozen composers. In addition to performing and teaching, Tom has worked as a music therapist with Prentiss Autism Center and with urban youth with severe emotional disturbances. Lempner has earned degrees from Kent State University, Baldwin-Wallace, and the Army School of Music. He is a Conn-Selmer performing artist and a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Madison native Cooper Wood is a graduate student in composition at The Ohio State University. His piano trio, Ghost Interlude, was selected as the winner of the 2017 Cleveland Composers Guild Young Composers Contest. His Sonata for Trumpet and Piano was recently selected to be performed on the New Works recital at the 2022 International Trumpet Guild conference in San Antonio, Texas. Wood has had solo, chamber, and orchestral works performed on concerts at Ohio State, Cedarville University, Bowling Green State University, and UCLA. From 2014 to 2017, Cooper served as the Resident Youth Musical Director for the nationally awarded Mercury Theater Company at Notre Dame College, and currently plays piano in various ensembles ranging from jazz to musical theater. He currently serves as president of the OSU New Music Collective and as a Graduate Teaching Associate for the Theory area at Ohio State, instructing courses in Aural Training, Music Theory, and previously, Counterpoint.
“Even though the saxophone was invented in the 1840s, it never really caught on as an orchestral instrument and it’s still a rarity to find one being used in an orchestral setting,” said Greg Hillis, conductor of the Snowbelt Symphony. “It was still relatively unfamiliar in Glazunov’s day, but he was enthralled with the sound and, at the urging of German saxophonist Sigurd Rascher, wrote the concerto in 1934. Unfortunately he died without ever hearing it performed.”
“We’re very excited to be able to perform Cooper Wood’s in transit on this concert,” says Hillis. “This will only be the second performance of the piece. It requires the performers to use many different techniques like pizzicato, where the players pluck the strings instead of using the bow, and col legno, where the players hit the strings with the wood part of the bow.”
When asked why someone should come to this concert, conductor Greg Hillis said, “Whether you know it or not, you have heard Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. It’s been in movies, cartoons, TV commercials – you’re going to recognize it. The Saxophone Concerto is a beautiful piece of Russian romantic music, Cooper Wood’s piece is very interesting, and the Grieg is just some of the most beautiful music ever written for string orchestra. The orchestra sounds fantastic.”
Tickets for the Simply Strings…and Saxophone concert are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $8 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.snowbeltmusical.org. New Promise Church is located at 8671 Euclid Chardon Rd (Rt 6) in Kirtland.
The Snowbelt Symphony Orchestra is a brand new 33-player fully-professional orchestra bringing high quality live classical music performances to Lake and Geauga counties. The orchestra next performs on April 1 with a concert titled A Taste of Italy..
For more information, please visit www.snowbeltmusical.org. Snowbelt Musical Arts Association can be reached for questions or comments at info@snowbeltmusical.org or 440-296-9610. SMAA can be followed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @snowbeltmusical.
