The Wheeling Symphony to Present 95th Anniversary Concert

The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is gearing up to celebrate their 95th anniversary with a season-closing concert featuring local artists, a community choir, and two world premiere compositions, as well as several familiar favorites.

“This is the final concert of our 95th anniversary season, so we knew we had to thoughtfully design something that represents our current goals, as well as our history,” says WSO Music Director John Devlin. “I can't wait for our audience to experience so many significant events as part of this performance: the debut of our new WSO community choir; the world premiere of Matthew Harder and Christina Fisanik's work Where I'm From; another world premiere by composer Jonathan Kolm, written for our principal cellist Elisa Kohanski; the return to the podium of former WSO Music Director André Raphel as a guest conductor; and the performance of one of the most brilliant pieces in the repertoire, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe. This will feel like a historic celebration, but also, acknowledge deeply our mission of creating new music.”

The new Wheeling Symphony Community Choir, comprised of over 40 local singers, will perform on two pieces on the program. The ensemble's size, in tandem with the full orchestra, means the Capitol Theatre has to build a special stage extension to accommodate all musicians.

Rehearsals for the community choir began in January, directed by former Ohio County music teacher Joyce Jingle with assistance by current OCS music teacher Luke Mazure. Every Monday, this all-ages group would meet to prepare for this exciting performance.

The program will open with a new piece titled Where I'm From, which was composed by West Liberty University professor Matthew Harder for the WSO's 95th anniversary. For the piece, Harder and the WSO collaborated with local professor Dr. Christina Fisanick to craft lyrics for the WSO Community Choir to sing with the piece. The end result is a musical love letter to the Ohio Valley.

After this, the WSO will follow with yet another world premiere: Jonathan Kolm's new Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, inspired and performed by WSO Principal Cellist Elisa Kohanski. Kohanski, who has served as the WSO's principal cellist for over 15 years, is an avid traveler; last summer, she achieved her goal of performing on all seven continents—including Antarctica—with a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Kolm's piece is inspired by Elisa's travels, and will include a movement for each continent of the world.

The concert will close with two pieces by composer Maurice Ravel, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Former WSO Conductor and Music Director André Raphel will return to the WSO stage as guest conductor for Ravel's La Valse. The concert will close with Ravel's Suite no. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe, once again featuring the WSO community choir.