Did you know that the oldest orchestra in New Hampshire was founded in Penacook in 1895?
Yep, the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra is that old and it has presented concerts every year since 1905. If you haven’t caught one yet in the 113 consecutive years they’ve been doing it, you’ve got a chance this weekend.
To close out the 2017-18 season, the NHPO will perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Concord City Auditorium on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Now we’re not super familiar with the intricacies of Beethoven’s work (shocker, we know), but there’s one part of the symphony – the fourth movement – which will include four professional soloists and a chorus.
The chorus was formed by volunteers from church choirs and community singing groups who have been known to belt out a few quality tunes.
“Little by little I ended up with a roster of 50 singers,” said Cathy Kaplan.
But one thing Kaplan was looking for as well was the addition of the younger generation to the chorus.
“When the board and musical director decided to add Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to the season, I thought it would be great if we could get some high school choruses involved,” Kaplan said.
So she put the call out to local schools and got one very welcomed response. The Concord High School chamber singers wanted to be a part of the performances, so more than 20 students will take the stage on Sunday for what we can only imagine will enhance the N.H. Philharmonic Orchestra show.
“With the addition of the Concord High singers, we wanted to bring the concert to Concord,” Kaplan said.
The actual orchestra has up to 60 members and this show will bring in an additional eight performers “to beef up some of the sections to some of the more important parts of the show,” Kaplan said.
The normal orchestra members are all volunteers and do it out of the love of music, Kaplan said.
“We have members who have been with the orchestra since the 80s,” she said.
The first portion of the performance will include the “Russian Easter Overture” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and “Suite Hébraïque” (Ernest Bloch) followed by an intermission and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, featuring the chorus.
In total, expect to be in your seats for a little more than two hours for the one-and-only Concord show.
Early-bird tickets are $18, while children 18 and under are free. Tickets will also be available at the door for $25.
For more information, visit nhphil.org.
