OCEAN PINES—The Mid-Atlantic Symphony
Orchestra Music Director Julien Benichou will
raise the baton for a 2013-2014 season premiere performance on Oct. 13 with
French violinist Arnaud Sussmann performing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin
Concerto in D Major, Op. 35.
Benichou said he had wanted very
much to conduct the classical favorite by Tchaikovsky and thought it would be
“a great opportunity” to conclude the concert with Franz Schubert’s Symphony
No. 9 in C Major, D. 944.
The MSO’s season premier series,
“A Season of Discovery,” will travel from the Easton Church of God on Oct. 10;
to the Mariner’s Bethel Church in Ocean View, Del. on Oct. 12. It will conclude
at the Community Church in Ocean Pines on Oct. 13.
The work was composed in 1878 and
is one of the best known of all violin concertos. It is also considered to be
among the most technically difficult works for violin, according to an MSO
description of Tchaikovsky’s classic. Schubert’s Symphony, completed in 1826,
is known as “The Great” C Major, it said.
According to the description, Sussmann
has performed throughout the U.S. and worldwide, earning praise from both
critics and audiences. He studied with Boris Garlitsky and Itzhak Perlman, who
chose him to be a Starling Fellow, an honor qualifying him as Perlman’s
teaching assistant for two years.
Benichou said he was excited to work
with Sussman and recommended that people come to see Sussman’s performance for
themselves.
The symphony had reached out to
Sussman through the same New York agency that represented several of its other
featured soloists, according to Benichou. He said he believed it would be
Sussman’s first visit to the Eastern Shore.
The performance time for the
concert will be 50 minutes and will be preceded by a pre-concert lecture that
will begin at 2:15 p.m. in Ocean Pines and at 6:45 p.m. in Ocean View.
Benichou was asked whether it was
his intention to continue performing at multiple Eastern Shore venues or whether
he could foresee performing at a fixed location at some point in the future.
“Considering the size and travel
distances on the Eastern Shore, multiple performances make sense, “ he said,
but, he added, that did not mean he would not like to see the symphony at a
central location if one could be found. “I really like the fact that we are the
Eastern Shore’s orchestra. I like that very much,” he said.
The MSO will also sponsor a holiday
performance of “Amazing Voices,” in Ocean Pines on Dec. 8.
Season subscriptions are $145 and
individual tickets for this performance are $35. For more information or to
order subscription or individual concert tickets, call 1-888-846-8600 or visit
the www.midatlanticsymphony.org to download the season brochure and ticket
order form.
Also, on Oct. 26, the MSO will
co-host a fundraiser with the Art League of Ocean City, according to board
member David Stevens. The black-tie optional event “Artistry in Motion,” will
be held at the Ocean City Center for the Arts and proceeds will benefit both
the MSO and Ocean City Center for the Arts.
Hors d’oeuvres and an open bar will
be catered by Liquid Assets of Ocean City. The evening’s activities will
include art demonstrations and a silent auction of art and other desirable
items, he said.
Guests will be entertained with chamber
music performances by Daphne Benichou, on viola, accompanied by harpist Maria
Harrison.
Parking will be available at 94th street, with complimentary shuttle
service provided for patrons to the Center for the Arts.