The Federal Way Symphony is ending its season on April 24 with “Orchestral Showpieces,” the final concert in its 2021-22 season.
To round out its 39th season, the Symphony is performing works that demand the utmost virtuosity from the entire orchestra. The concert is at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
“My first year as music director has been a joyful one,” said Conductor Adam Stern. “Our accomplished and sensitive musicians have been wholly supportive of the music I’ve chosen to perform, and have given both their skills and their hearts to every rehearsal and performance. I am already looking forward to hearing what they will bring to the adventurous programs of next season.”
The concert showcases 20th century works, including Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Tríptic de Mossén Cinto”, Dag Wirén’s “Serenade for Strings”, and Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” The concert will also travel to 18th century Europe with works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Joseph Haydn.
“I’m a firm believer in combining the new with the known,” Stern said. “This concert has two favorites from the string orchestra repertoire by Bach and Barber, plus a delicious third work for strings by Dag Wirén that I know will hit the bull’s-eye with our audience. Haydn’s greatness is always readily acknowledged, but how often do we hear any of his symphonies other than the Farewell or one of the half-dozen later ones that always get programmed? Finally, Elizabeth Galafa Ylaya and I are pleased to show our audience that there’s more to Rodrigo than the Concierto de Aranjuez.”
Rodrigo’s “Tríptic de Mossén Cinto” for soprano and orchestra features two exquisite lyrical movements flanking a centerpiece of simultaneous universal appeal and unique Spanish flair. Soprano Elizabeth Galafa Ylaya joins the Symphony for this virtuoso performance.
Galafa Ylaya is a Seattle-based singer who has previously performed with Seattle Opera, OperaBend, and Symphony Tacoma. She also nurtures the next generation of musicians as a voice instructor and a Music Together Teacher for babies and toddlers.
Wirén’s “Serenade for Strings” boasts two movements (the first and third) of joyous and nervous energy, a slow second movement of long-lined lyricism, and a march finale that contains one of the most beguiling and hard-to-forget tunes in the chamber orchestra repertoire.
“Adagio for Strings,” Samuel Barber’s best-known work, premiered in 1938 with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Orchestra. It has become associated with times of mourning, having been played upon the deaths of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy, in memorial to those killed on September 11, 2001, for coronavirus victims, and, most recently, by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at a benefit concert for Ukraine on March 14 this year.
The Symphony is offering free child and youth tickets to the concert with the purchase of an adult or senior/military ticket. Each paid ticket can reserve up to three child/youth tickets.
Tickets are available by phone at (253) 835-7010 or at fwpaec.org/events/orchestral-showpieces/.
Federal Way Symphony concerts are held at the Federal Way Performing Arts & Events Center, 31510 Pete von Reichbauer Way S., which offers convenient access to I-5 and ample free parking.
