Thursday, May 20, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
3
Grande Ronde Symphony performs alfresco
LA GRANDE — As a part of Eastern Oregon
University’s Music Week, the Grande Ronde
Symphony will present its fi rst live concert in
more than a year Wednesday, May 26, beginning
at 4 p.m.
The Grande Ronde Symphony String Orches-
tra will perform outside on the steps of Loso
Hall on the EOU campus in La Grande. Guests
are invited to bring their lawn chairs and enjoy
the last presentation in the 2020-2021 Grande
Ronde Symphony Chamber Series.
The featured performer will be Sarah Plum-
mer, violinist from Baker City, as she presents
the 1st Movement of the Sietz Concerto No. 5.
Plummer is the 2021 winner of the Young
Student category award from the Grande Ronde
Symphony Association Concerto+Aria Compe-
tition. This will be her fi rst solo presentation,
which is always an exciting opportunity for an
aspiring young musician.
The Grande Ronde Symphony String Or-
chestra is composed of 13 members of the full
symphony and will be under the baton of GRSO
music director Zachary Banks.
“To meet health guidelines we were not able
to rehearse or perform pieces that have wind or
brass, due to the aerosols the musicians emit to
blow through their instruments,” Banks said in
a press release.
“So we have pivoted to just strings and se-
lected some fun, yet challenging music that will
truly light up our audience.”
The repertoire for the May 26 performance
will be Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony,”
“Serenade for String Orchestra” by Edward
Elgar, and “Andante Festivo” by Jean Sebelius.
If you miss the live performance, the program
will be recorded indoors the evening of May 26
and the video will be shared on Facebook and
the Grande Ronde Symphony and EO Alive
websites in early June.
To see more about the Grande Ronde Sym-
phony String Orchestra performance and view
full program notes, visit www.GrandeRonde
Symphony.org.
The symphony’s website and Facebook page
also provide links to past virtual performances,
free to enjoy at any time.
Grande Ronde Symphony Orchestra/
Contributed Photo
Violinist Sarah Plummer, winner in
the Young Student category of the
Concerto+Aria Competition, will peform
with the Grande Ronde Symphony May 26
on the Eastern Oregon University campus
in La Grande.
SARAH PLUMMER of Baker City began
studying the violin at age 10, when her
parents fi nally gave in and gave her a violin
for Christmas. Now a junior at Baker High
School, she has studied violin for seven years
and is currently studying with Viet Block from
Pendleton.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah
played in Baker City’s Community Orchestra.
Outside of music her interests include road
cycling, mountain biking and tennis. Another
of her interests is art, which she puts to use
by volunteering to paint murals at her school.
Sarah has worked with the Baker School
District’s summer camp programs for the past
two years and was an intern with the Baker
Resources Coalition in 2020. She is an active
member of both National Honor Society and
Future Business Leaders of America at Baker
High School.
Ms. Plummer is the 2021 Young Student
category winner of the Concerto+Aria Com-
petition though the Grande Ronde Symphony
Association.
■ program notes
Andante Festivo
Composed by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Originally scored for string quartet in 1922, Andante Festivo was
rescored for string orchestra and optional timpani in 1938. The piece
was premiered on New Year’s Day in 1939 as part of a live worldwide
broadcast for the New York World Exhibition. Sibelius, often recog-
nized as Finland’s greatest composer, conducted that premiere perfor-
mance with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as a greeting to
the world from Finland.
Serenade for Strings in E Minor, Op. 20
Composed by Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Written in three movements, Elgar’s Serenade for Strings is a favor-
ite of the standard string orchestral repertoire. The fi rst performance
of this piece was conducted by Elgar in 1892, and the piece is rumored
to be his fi rst composition with which he was truly satisfi ed. A promi-
nent English composer, violinist, and conductor, Elgar wrote very
friendly and idiomatic lines for this instrumentation.
Simple Symphony, Op. 4
Composed by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
This work for strings, quartet or orchestral was fi nished in the years
1933 and 1934 when Britten was 20. The subject material for each
of the four movements is made up of eight melodies (two per move-
ment) that Britten wrote for piano between the ages of 10 and 13. The
alliterative titles also point to a childlike playfulness, and the piece is
dedicated to Britten’s childhood viola teacher.
— Program notes courtesy of Grande Ronde Symphony
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