Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Plans for One Found Sound’s Eleventh Season

Readers may recall that, for One Found Sound (OFS), the last season was a landmark event, celebrating the tenth anniversary of this orchestral ensemble that performs without a conductor. This past Friday, OFS announced plans for eleventh season, promising that it would be the “biggest and boldest one yet.” As in the past there will be three orchestral concerts, two of which will present world premiere performances. There will also be the annual fundraising gala, as well as the out-of-the-ordinary holiday spectacular entitled Holiday Pop Rox! This season several different venues will host different different events, all of which will still take place on Saturday evenings. All tickets will be sold individually through Ticket Tailor. A Web page has been created for all OFS events; but, as of this writing, tickets are available only for the opening concert of the season. In order of occurrence, the programs will be as follows:

One Found Sound performing at Heron Arts (courtesy of the ensemble)

October 14, 8 p.m., Heron Arts, Velocity: The first half of the program will present recent works by two of today’s most exciting composers, both of whom happen to be women. Hannah Kendall will lead the program with “Vera,” which will be followed by “bubblegum grass/peppermint field” by Angélica Negrón. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Franz Schubert’s D. 803 octet in F major, scored for winds and strings. Max Savage will return to present new visuals and lighting designs.

December 9, 8 p.m., Holiday Pop Rox!: Once again Jesse Barrett will host an evening of favorite holiday tunes. Also once again there will be a special guest appearance by drag queen and performer JAX. The other guest will be Nicki J., this year’s Drag Queen of the Year winner. As was the case last year, the Web page for purchasing tickets, which will also announce the venue, has not yet been created but should appear later in the fall.

March 2, 8 p.m., Swedish American Hall, Waveform: This program will begin with the winner of the OFS Emerging Composer Award for this year, Sam Wu. The title of his award-winning composition is “Hydrosphere.” It will be coupled, appropriately enough, with a work by Ruth Gipps entitled “Seascape.” The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 55 (third) symphony in E-flat major, best known by the title “Eroica.”

April 27, 8 p.m., Swedish American Hall, Supersonic: Some readers may recall that, this past March, OFS launched its Herbert Franklin Mells Project, created to honor the little-known Black American composer of that name. The program for that occasion included his first symphony, composed in 1938. This program will present the world premiere of his “Newsflashes of Late ’44,” a march inspired by the Battle of the Bulge, which was a major turning point on the European front of World War II. The program will begin with a more positive perspective on Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1046, the first of his six “Brandenburg” concertos, composed in the key of F major. The remaining work on the program will acknowledge another contemporary female composer, Valerie Coleman. Her “Phenomenal Women” lives up to its name, having been inspired by the efforts of women like Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, and Serena Williams.

June 8, 7 p.m., Heron Arts, Now! That’s What I Call a Gala, Volume 11: This will be the annual fundraising party. This year the music will provide “a blast from the past.” It will feature arrangements of some of the greatest hits from the late nineties and the new century.

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