The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Concert to include works by composers Bruce, Donahue, Duffy
BRISTOL — The Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra and Bristol Eastern High School Madrigal Singers will perform a collaborative concert Sunday at 3 p.m. at Bristol Eastern High School, 632 King St., Bristol.
The orchestra and madrigal singers will perform three compositions by living Connecticut composers. Neely Bruce’s “Introduction and Grand March: An Orchestral Homage to the late W. A. Mozart of Salzburg and the late C. E. Ives of Danbury,” is inspired by the comic possibilities of the music of Mozart and Ives.
Richard Donahue’s “Our Fathers Built this Goodly House” is in the tradition of New England hymnody. Thomas Duffy’s “Overture 1776” is modeled on Tchaikovsky’s Overture 1812, replacing Russian and French themes with English and American. All three compositions, in their own way, bear the New England stamp and in their background is more than a bit of Charles Ivesian influence.
Bruce is on the faculty of Wesleyan University and Thomas Duffy is on the faculty of Yale University. Richard Donahue is conductor of the New England Chamber Choir.
The Bristol Eastern High School Madrigal Singers are the premier group of Bristol Eastern High School's award winning choral program. Under the direction of Michael Coderre the Madrigal Singers are known for their rich, warm sound and inspiring performances.
Kara Friedman, first prize winner of the 2016 – 2017 Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition will be the featured soloist in Debussy’s Premier Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra. Kara is senior at Bristol Eastern High School and a member of the Boston Youth Symphony.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, are available at www.Nutmeg Symphony.org or at the door.