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Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra Offers Songs by Vaughan Williams and a Mozart Symphony

(Logo courtesy Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra)

Founded in 2005, the Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra is a regional community orchestra comprising more than 100 professionals, students, and enthusiasts.  The orchestra's next concert is Sunday November 2nd at 6:00pm in Drury University's Clara Thompson Hall.  Music Director Christopher Koch will conduct Ralph Vaughan Williams' song cycle "On Wenlock Edge" with tenor Stephen Bomgardner, and Mozart's Symphony No. 39.  Tickets will be available only at the door beginning one hour before the concert (5:00 PM in Clara Thompson lobby).  General admissions, cash or check only. 

According to tenor soloist Stephen Bomgardner, "'On Wenlock Edge' was originally written in 1909 for tenor, string quartet and piano.  Vaughan Williams had gone to Paris the previous year to study with Ravel, then wrote this piece. He chose six poems from A. E. Housman's 'A Shrophshire Lad.'  And then in 1918 he began orchestrating them."  Bomgardner and the SDCO will perform the orchestral version of the cycle.

Mozart's 39th Symphony, says Bomgardner, "is part of his last three symphonies--39, 40 and 41--and it's unusual because it doesn't use oboes, it uses clarinets. It's not performed that often, but it's a great work."

For more information visit http://sdco.drury.edu.

Randy Stewart joined the full-time KSMU staff in June 1978 after working part-time as a student announcer/producer for two years. His job has evolved from Music Director in the early days to encompassing production of a wide range of arts-related programming and features for KSMU, including the online and Friday morning Arts News. Stewart assists volunteer producers John Darkhorse (Route 66 Blues Express), Lee Worman (The Gold Ring), and Emily Higgins (The Mulberry Tree) with the production of their programs. He's also become the de facto "Voice of KSMU" in recent years due to the many hours per day he’s heard doing local station breaks. Stewart’s record of service on behalf of the Springfield arts community earned him the Springfield Regional Arts Council's Ozzie Award in 2006.