The UWYO Symphony orchestra opened their 2023-24 season on Thursday, Oct. 5, with a bang. The symphony’s performance, entitled “Haydn’s Surprise”, included 4 pieces and was conducted by Dr. Michael Griffith. The concert also featured The Ben Markley Trio as soloists.
The night started off strong, with the operatic “Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg”, written by Richard Wagner in 1867. The second piece of the concert was the origin of the program’s title, being Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 94, also coined the Surprise symphony.
“SPOILER ALERT,” reads the program, “The Surprise Symphony’s name comes from perhaps the best known of Haydn’s many musical jokes: a sudden loud chord near the opening the second movement.”
After a short intermission, the concert continued with “Procession of Nobles from Mlada”, an 1889 piece written by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The final work of the night was the world premier of “The Point, for Jazz Piano Trio and Symphony Orchestra”.
The Point, written by Wil Swindler, was commissioned by UW for the symphony orchestra and the Ben Markley Trio, a faculty Jazz trio native to UW that includes the titular Dr. Ben Markley on piano, as well as Dr. Seth Lewis on bass, and Dr. Andy Wheelock on drums.
“We’re doing something very, very unusual,” said conductor Dr. Michael Griffith in an interview “UW has a great classical side and we have a really, really great jazz side. But those usually are in kind of separate musical worlds.”
The concert was enjoyed greatly by those who attended.
Faith Martin, a dance student at UW said “I think [the concert is] really good. I’ve never actually been to an orchestra, so I did not know what to expect but I quite enjoyed the classical music.”
Community member and symphony attendee Maria Dylan said that she came to the event because “We’re music lovers and in other cities where we’ve been in we’ve had season tickets to chamber orchestras and different things. We thought, well, we wanted to support and we bought season tickets.”
While opening night has passed us by, the UW symphony has a number of other events throughout the year for all- UW students, staff, and members of the community.
“People may think that well, orchestra concert, geez I have to dress up so fancy and they must be really expensive,” said Dr. Griffith, emphasizing the accessibility of the symphony. “I don’t want anyone to feel like they might be out of place [at the symphony.]”
