“The Music of Friendships” is Clinton Symphony Orchestra’s annual concert of music for small groups. The performance will begin at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, January 12, 2024, at Zion Lutheran Church, 439 Third Avenue South, in Clinton, IA. Featured are three trios of musicians from the orchestra, ranging from music by Beethoven to American composer Randall Thompson.
The Beethoven piece is a piano trio (piano, violin, and cello), nicknamed “The Ghost.” A former Beethoven pupil wrote that the slow movement of the piece “resembles an appearance from the underworld…the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet.” Pianist Nadia Wirchnianski of Lanark, IL, violinist Julie Marston of Clinton, and cellist David Spaulding of Dixon, IL, will perform the trio.
Sir Malcolm Arnold, a 20th Century British composer, wrote a Divertimento for Winds in 1952. Symphony musicians flutist Crystal Duffee of Davenport, IA, oboist Hillary Brunner of Milledgeville, IL, and clarinetist Emily Bressler of Mount Carroll, IL, will perform its six short movements.
Randall Thompson, who is known largely for his choral works, wrote a trio for oboe, clarinet, and viola. Oboist Tamara Byram Mahl, clarinetist Susan Schwaegler, and violist Donna Rod will perform it. All three live in the Quad Cities, and have been musicians in Clinton Symphony.
Admission is by season ticket or a $20 ticket at the door of the concert. Students are always admitted free of charge to Clinton Symphony Orchestra concerts, and an accompanying adult can be admitted at half price.
Full information, including program notes on the music to be performed, is available on the Symphony’s website at www.clintonsymphony.org.