The Columbia Gorge Sinfonietta will perform its spring concerts on Friday, April 3, in Hood River and on Sunday, April 5, in The Dalles.
The Friday concert in Hood River will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Bowe Theatre at Hood River Valley High School.
The Sunday concert in The Dalles will begin at 2 p.m. in The Dalles Civic Auditorium at Fourth and Federal.
Sponsored by the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association and conducted by Music Director Mark Steighner, the Sinfonietta will perform some of the most engaging and melodic music written for orchestra.
The program begins with the boisterous overture to Rossini's The Thieving Magpie -- a piece Rossini wrote to win back some of his 19th century fans who were straying to the music of other composers.
The soloists for this spring concert are actually duettists. Julie Eddy of The Dalles and Dawn Rankin of Hood River will perform Andante and Rondo, a flute duet, accompanied by the Sinfonietta. This music was written by Franz Doppler, who toured Europe playing flute duets with his brother in the mid-1800s and wrote the music they performed together.
The first part of the program ends with one of the most famous fugues ever written: Johann Sebastian Bach's Fugue in G minor. After the first statement of the free-flowing melody, the instruments have a musical conversation, passing the theme around the orchestra. All the sections politely take turns until the end, when everyone joins in for a stirring finale.
Following intermission, the Sinfonietta will perform Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony Number Four. Mendelssohn wrote this symphony as an expression of his delight and excitement upon visiting Italy for the first time. The joy and lyricism of this major orchestral work is a fitting welcome to spring.
There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
Refreshments are available for purchase at intermission.
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