An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


News

Sign up for the Marine Band newsletter HERE.

Photo Information

Marine Chamber Orchestra Concert: April 3, 2022

Photo by United States Marine Band

Mozart, Mendelssohn, & More

28 Mar 2022 | Staff Sgt. Chase Baran United States Marine Band

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is considered one of the most influential composers in the history of Western music. He was a master of melody that was able to capture the hearts and the ears of the public. On Sunday, April 3, the Marine Chamber Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 in A major, one of his best-known early symphonies, as well as more traditional and modern selections.

PROGRAM & NOTES

In preparation for his first orchestra concert, Assistant Director 1st Lt. Darren Y. Lin contemplated the personal connection he has to Mozart’s work.

“While pursuing my Master's degree, I emailed a conductor who I was very interested in studying with and asked what I should do to get into his studio,” Lin said. “He bluntly replied, ‘You won't study with me, but you should study Mozart and Haydn symphonies.’ The symphony on this concert happens to be the first of Mozart’s that I studied, and one that has become a personal favorite. I find his work to be incredibly brilliant and invigorating, with quite a bit of humor infused as well.”

The symphony will serve as the concert’s grand finale, complementing the Mozart opera which will open up the performance - his Overture to Don Giovanni.

Despite writing a vast catalogue of symphonies, concerti, and chamber music, Mozart loved opera above all else - it spoke directly to Mozart’s ideals as an artist. He adored the fantasy, drama, and humor afforded by the stage and found it a perfect vehicle to feed his creative imagination and constantly expand the boundaries of his musical language.

“The President’s Own” will also welcome to the stage the winner of its 2022 Concerto Competition for High School Musicians. Violinist Henry Auxenfans, a high school freshman from Chicago, will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64 with the Marine Chamber Orchestra. In addition to performing with the ensemble, Auxenfans was awarded a scholarship from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation after the final round of competition held on Feb. 19. Read more about the competition.

Two modern pieces have also been programmed by 1st Lt. Lin for this concert: John Corigliano’s Voyage, which was originally composed for a capella choir, and Stefan Freund’s Unremixed, a tribute to the electronic music of Richard D. James, otherwise known as Aphex Twin.

Definitely a unique piece on the program, 1st Lt. Lin wanted to give special attention to Unremixed: “The challenge of replicating electronic effects with acoustic instruments speaks to my roots as a percussionist. But I'm drawn to the compelling use of rhythm in this piece. More often than not, I find works that ask players to perform complex rhythms comes at a detriment to musicality, but this piece manages to be complex and hauntingly beautiful at the same time.”

The concert will take place at 2 p.m. at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. (4915 East Campus Drive, Alexandria, VA 22311). Admission is free, and free parking is available in the adjacent garage. Please note that masks and COVID vaccination or negative COVID test within 72 hours are required for all in-person concerts. The program is subject to change.