Members of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus. (Photo provided)
Celebrate the coming of spring with glorious music on Sunday, March 22, as the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra presents the IU Health LaPorte Hospital Classic Concert. The works of Bach, Bruckner and Brahms will be featured at this concert at 3 p.m. at the Elston Performing Arts Center, 317 Detroit St., Michigan City.
Tickets range from $18 to $20 and are on sale now at www.lcso.net, as well as at LaPorte Savings Bank, LR Men’s Clothier and Tuxedos, Roxy Music, LaPorte County Visitors Bureau at Marquette Mall, and Auturo’s Bakery and More, 2613 U.S. 12, Michigan City.
The concert will begin with Bach’s Cantata 140 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” one of Bach’s best known works. The cantata was written for the last Sunday in the Lutheran church year, and speaks of the need for preparation in anticipation of the coming of Christ in the upcoming Advent season, as well as at the end of the liturgical cycle. Soloists will include Sarah Gartshore, soprano; Emanuel Caraman, tenor; and Peter van de Graaff, bass. The Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus and Illumination perform together on this piece.
Te Deum, undoubtedly Bruckner’s greatest sacred choral work, is a joyful and compelling piece propelled by “Aeterna Fac,” rousingly executed by the combined forces of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus and Illumination. Soloists include Sarah Gartshore, soprano; Jori Jennings, mezzo soprano; Emanuel Caraman, tenor; and Peter van de Graaff, bass.
The concert concludes with Brahms’s Symphony No. 2. Brahms composed his sunny and affectionate Second Symphony at the peak of his career, at age 44. He began working on the piece in the summer of 1877, while on vacation in the lakeside summer resort of Portschach, Austria. He wrote to the critic and his ardent supporter, Eduard Hanslick, “In the course of the winter I shall let you hear a symphony that sounds so cheerful and delightful you will think I wrote it especially for you …” and premiered the symphony in Vienna in December of the same year.
This concert is made possible with the support of title sponsor IU Health LaPorte Hospital, with supporting sponsorship from the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation and Blue Chip Casino. IU Health LaPorte will present Healing Music-Healing Touch as the concert’s introductory theme.