5 minute read
Frequently Asked Questions
from prélude
CLASSICAL MUSIC for EVERYONE
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Scott Speck
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Andrew Buelow Executive Director Rhonda Bogner, CPA Chief Financial Officer Amanda Dykhouse Orchestra Librarian Kate McClure Patron Services Manager Perry Newson Director of Operations/Guest Artists Keely Payne Art Director/Marketing Manager Gabe Slimko VP of Operations/Orchestra Personnel Manager Karen Vander Zanden Director of Education and
Corporate Engagement
WEST MICHIGAN SYMPHONY CHILDREN'S CHOIR
Beth Slimko Director
DEBUT STRINGS
Angela Corbin Director
TICKET OFFICE / 231.726.3231 x223
360 W Western Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49440 Online at westmichigansymphony.org
FIND US ONLINE West Michigan Symphony
Website: westmichigansymphony.org Facebook: facebook.com/wmsymphony Twitter: twitter.com/westmisymphony Email: info@westmichigansymphony.org
The Block
Website: theblockwestmichigan.org Facebook: facebook.com/AtTheBlock Twitter: twitter.com/attheblock Email: info@theblockwestmichigan.org
The West Michigan Symphony is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex or disability. Programs are funded in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
All sales are final. Dates, artists and programs are subject to change.
Cover art by Keely Payne.
PARKING
Free street parking surrounds the theater with additional free parking lots located nearby at 3rd & Morris and at 5th & Western. Disability Parking is provided on Western Avenue adjacent to the theater.
DISABILITY SEATING
Wheelchair and other disability seating is available. Call 231.727.8001 to reserve.
CONCERT LENGTH AND ARRIVAL TIME
Most concerts vary between 90 minutes and 2 hours, with a 20-minute intermission. We recommend arriving at least 20 minutes before concert time in order to find your seat and peruse the program magazine. If you do arrive late, you will be asked to listen from the lobby until a suitable break. The timing for latecomer seating varies by concert and is determined by the Music Director.
ATTIRE
There is no dress code at the Symphony. Attire varies from casual to formal, but most people dress in business attire or business casual. We do recommend that you limit the use of perfume and cologne, as this can sometimes be bothersome to other patrons.
PERSONAL MEDIA DEVICES
We ask that ALL media devices, including mobile phones, be shut down or silenced inside the concert hall. We discourage texting and other use of phones. Taking of pictures and video is prohibited during concerts.
CHILDREN
We recommend checking with our Patron Services staff as to the appropriateness of the concert for children under the age of 6. As an alternative, we recommend our Click Clack Moosic storytime concert series at The Block. Please refer to the schedule on p. 10.
SUBSCRIBER SERVICES
Subscribers are encouraged to call 231.726.3231 or visit the WMS Office, 360 W Western Ave, Suite 200, for all of their service needs. Phone hours M to F, 9 am to 4:30 pm. Walk-in hours M to F, 11 am to 4:30 pm.
TICKET EXCHANGES
Subscribers only: if you are unable to attend a concert and would like to exchange into a different program, we are happy to assist you prior to 5 pm the night of the concert being exchanged from. No fee exchanges are a subscriber benefit (up-charges may apply) fulfilled only at the WMS Office.
SINGLE TICKETS
Single tickets are available at the Frauenthal Center Box Office, 425 W. Western Ave or by calling 231.727.8001. Box office hours are M to F, 11 am to 5:30 pm.
We are excited to have you with us for the 2019-20 season—the 80th Anniversary of your West Michigan Symphony! To celebrate this important milestone in the organization’s life we are pulling out all the stops.
The opening concert in late September is an embarrassment of riches, an outpouring of Slavic melody and emotion. Two of our favorite works by Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky make up this generous program of Russian masterpieces.
Closing the season in June will be a once-in-a-generation experience: a rare performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 “Resurrection.” This massive work for choir, two vocal soloists and enormous orchestral forces (including offstage brass fanfares) spans the entire concert.
In between these two, we treat you to a treasure trove from all periods of the repertoire!
In November, we bring back Beethoven & Blue Jeans with beloved pianist Charlie Albright performing the Third Piano Concerto. And Beethoven’s most iconic work, the Fifth Symphony, will electrify our hall with its visceral depictions of fate, tenderness, and triumph.
For December’s Sounds of the Season, we welcome our friend John Thomas Dodson as guest conductor. Beth Slimko’s spectacular WMS Children’s Choir and North Muskegon High School Choir will team up to warm your hearts with music both familiar and new. Due to popular demand, we have added a Saturday matinee performance.
Guitarists Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo will lead off the second half of the season in late January. Whether playing Rimsky-Korsakov or Led Zeppelin they’re known for taking the audience on a jaw-dropping journey of guitar virtuosity.
In March, we welcome the fabulous young cellist Sujari Britt for her West Michigan debut performing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto no. 1. William Grant Still’s rarely-heard Symphony no. 1 “Afro-American” will be paired with his orchestration of Florence Price’s Dances in the Canebrakes.
Mardi Gras comes to Muskegon in April next year—along with the great trumpeter Byron Stripling. This will be a night of smoking jazz from New Orleans including Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong.
In May, the spectacular violinist Chee-Yun returns for the combined Piazzolla and Vivaldi Four Seasons. The last movement of Spring is ravishing, fragrant, and full of delight. The finale of Summer, depicting a violent storm, feels practically terrified. The slow movement of Winter, a scene by the fireside, feels calm and content. And one movement of Autumn is literally drunk!
We are so appreciative that you have chosen to be a part of the West Michigan Symphony community, and it is our joy and pleasure to share this spectacular music with you. Enjoy the concert!
Sincerely,
