The Chamber String Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Yuriy Leonovich will present a concert in Stratton Hall on Wednesday, March 12, at 5 p.m.
The theme for this semester’s concert is “Mostly Incidental,” showcasing a variety of incidental music, music that is used to set the mood for a particular scene in a dramatic performance such as a movie, play or radio show, according to Britannica.com.
The concert will feature songs such as Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and music by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
The Chamber String Orchestra is comprised of 20 violins, six violas, six cellos and two string basses, played by students from a variety of majors. The concert will also include winds and percussion.
Kailey Holloway, a freshman biblical counseling major, will be one of the two soloists in this concert. “I’m really looking forward to playing Shostakovich’s ‘Romance,’” Holloway said of the concert. “[‘Romance’] is such an emotional, heartfelt piece, which allows me to tap into my dramatic side while playing.”
Another soloist, Felicity Bell, a sophomore orchestral instrument performance major, said, “The piece I am most looking forward to performing with Chamber Strings is Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in C minor.” The piece accentuates the harmony and energy of the orchestra as a whole, Bell said. In this piece, Leonovich will also play the solo cellist part.
“My main goal is [to] develop unity,” Leonovich said of the concert. And with about 40 to 50 instruments including winds, unity is quite an accomplishment.
Dr. Leonovich is an adjunct faculty member under the division of music. After receiving his master’s and doctoral degrees in violoncello performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, he has taught courses such as Cello Instruction for Non-majors, Freshman Cello and Private Instruction for the Cello Minor. Dr. Leonovich also received the Hope and Stanley Adelstein Prize for Excellence in Composition and Performance in 2012. He is currently a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.