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August 23, 2007
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The search is on Bolstered by a spiffy new Web site and a search for a new conductor, the Nashua Symphony has put together varied programs for its 2007-08 season. The schedule is pared down a bit from last year — four major full-orchestra programs make up the core with a number of smaller-scale performances rounding out the line-up. The four big concerts are designed to showcase the talents of four guest conductors, each a candidate to take over the job. First up is Jonathan Schiffman, who opens the season with a light-hearted program designed to show the “brighter” side of serious composers. Featured soloist will be pianist Judith Gordon in Ravel’s jazzy Piano Concerto in G, plus De Falla’s Suite No. 1 form the “Three-Cornered Hat” and Beethoven’s irrepressibly rhythmic Symphony No. 7 in A. The concert is Saturday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. in Nashua’s Keefe Auditorium. Then, on Saturday, Oct. 20, guest conductor Karla Lemon will lead the group in Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony No. 41 and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. The performance is Saturday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. at Keefe Auditorium. Next up is an “unfinished business” program led by guest conductor Jed Gaylin that includes perhaps the strangest music of the season, the brief “Unanswered Question” piece by iconoclastic American composer Charles Ives. Also on the program is Mozart’s Requiem (which remained unfinished at his death) and Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, which is —well, the name says it all. Helping out is the Nashua Symphony Chorus. The music starts on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m. at Keefe Auditorium. A holiday pops concert follows on Sunday, Dec. 9, led by local conductor Robert C. Babb and Diane Cushing, director of the Nashua Symphony Chorus. Chock full of holiday favorites, the afternoon performance (at 4 p.m.) takes place at the Sheraton Nashua’s Grand Ballroom. Things then quiet down for a bit; the next concert is Saturday, March 15, when guest conductor Jonathan McPhee leads the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and the Violin Concerto of American composer Samuel Barber. Also up is new music, in the form of a chamber symphony written in 2005 by composer Michael Weinstein. Kudos to the Nashua folks for finding room for new music. The program starts at 8 p.m. in Keefe Auditorium. The season rounds out on Saturday, April 19, with a performance of Randall Thompson’s “Peaceable Kingdom” by the Nashua Symphony Chorus led by Diane Cushing. The music starts at 8 p.m. at the auditorium of Nashua High School North. By then, orchestra officials will likely have made a decision on which of the four candidates will get the job. Single tickets for Nashua Symphony concerts range from $10 to $47. Much better value is found in subscription packages, which run as high as $221 for the season. Visit nashuasymphony.org or call (603) 595-9156..
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8/9/2007 Like Tanglewood, but smaller
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