Beauty and the Brahms Concert
Beauty and the Brahms Concert, Feb. 19
CONWAY, ARK. (Feb. 8) – The beauty of Brahms Symphony No. 2 will be paired with opera arias from Mozart and Lehar and the debut of a 21-stringed Chinese zither for an amazing evening with the Conway Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 19, 7:30pm, at Reynolds Performance Hall in Conway. International guest artist Cao Jin from East China Normal University will be the featured soprano soloist, with Yuan Wang of Quingdao, China, playing the guzheng as the opening act. Tickets are $6-$38 and may be purchased by calling (501) 450-3265 or at www.uca.edu/tickets. The concert is sponsored by the Ralph Behrens Legacy and Former CSO Board members, with guest artist sponsorship from the UCA Confucius Institute and hospitality sponsorship from Nabholz Construction.
“I can’t say enough about the Brahms,” said Israel Getzov, conductor and music director for the Conway Symphony. “It’s a masterpiece, just a beautiful piece of music - warm and sunny, accessible, pleasant, and gorgeous.”
Getzov is equally excited about the concert’s guest artist, Cao Jin, who has performed major opera roles at the Shanghai Opera House as well as in Germany, Poland and Bulgaria. Ms. Cao received degrees in musical performance from Shanghai Conservatory, the Berlin Arts College and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, and is currently an award-winning faculty member at East China Normal Univ. where she directs the opera program. She will perform the “Queen of Night” aria from The Magic Flute, “Vilja” from The Merry Widow, plus “I Love You, China.”
The concert’s opening act will feature Yuan Wang playing the guzheng, a 21-stringed Chinese zither with a bridge under each string. Ms. Wang graduated with honors from the Xi’an Conservatory of Music and is completing an advanced degree in music at Qingdao University. She will perform “Guzheng Fantasy” by Jian-Min Wang
The Conway Symphony Orchestra performs seven concerts each season of classical and popular music, and works to make music accessible to a broad audience. More information is available at ConwaySymphony.org or by calling (501) 269-1066.
