Wooster Symphony Orchestra Opens 95 Season Oct. 8

“Highland Heritage Celebration” features music of and about Scotland

WOOSTER, Ohio — The Wooster Symphony Orchestra will open its 95th concert season with a special Homecoming Weekend performance on Friday, Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in McGaw Chapel (340 E. University St.). "Highland Heritage Celebration!" will feature music of and about Scotland, in recognition of the College’s Scottish history.

"The music of Scotland is so vibrant, and not just because it uses bagpipes," says Eric Benjamin, who is conducting the orchestra while music director Jeffrey Lindberg is on leave. "There is a recognizable accent in the music, and the sounds connect so readily in the imagination of the listener with Scottish scenes and characters."

The College of Wooster Pipe Band will join the orchestra in "Marches and Airs,”  Benjamin's own arrangement of traditional pipe tunes. Sophomore piper Erika Takeo will be the featured soloist in "Orkney Wedding and Sunrise" by Peter Maxwell Davies.

"It's the composer's musical memoir of a wedding celebration in his adopted hometown in the Orkneys." says Benjamin. "The piece brims with delightful parodies of folk-dance tunes, some broad humor, and a splendid, resounding finish."

Also on the program is Mendelssohn's popular overture "The Hebrides" and "Four Scottish Dances" by the English composer Malcolm Arnold.

Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door. College of Wooster students, faculty, and staff are admitted free of charge by presenting their ID card. Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2419) or e-mail.