The High School South Orchestra will perform at the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The orchestra, made up of musicians from grades 10, 11, and 12, will be traveling to Gettysburg from November 14 to 16 to present two concerts with music specific to the time period. Jean Mauro is the director of orchestras at South.
The first concert will be presented on Thursday, November 14, in Gettysburg Wyndham Marriott’s grand ballroom at 7:30 p.m. The second concert will be held at the Lutheran Seminary Chapel on Seminary Ridge on Friday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m.
The South orchestras have a rich history of performing in outstanding venues and supporting great causes. They performed in Scotland in the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Sir Henry Wood Hall and in the famous Greyfriar’s Kirk. In 2007 they traveled to Russia, performed with the Russian Ballet, and were recorded by the Russian National Broadcasting Station to be broadcast on the Russian National Television Station. In 2009, when the group traveled to Austria, a performance was held in Haydn’s Concert Hall to raise funds to support the elementary schools of Vienna. And in 2011 the group traveled to Pearl Harbor to help celebrate the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Last spring proceeds from the orchestra’s Ocean Grove concert were donated to support the shore region after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. This year the Philharmonia, besides performing for a historic event, will be donating the proceeds of these concerts to the Wounded Warriors Project to support wounded men and women from our armed forces.
The orchestra’s repertoire for both concerts is extensive. Clare Grundman’s “The Blue and the Gray” and Jerry Bilik’s “American Civil War Fantasy” are compilations of Civil War songs from both the North and the South.
Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” features sections of Lincoln’s speeches and letters. A newly composed work by Andrew Gabczynski, “Lincoln at Gettysburg,” describes the trip Lincoln made to Gettysburg, and includes the entire address. Narrating for this work will be Robert Peterson, the orchestra director from Grover Middle School, whose ancestor was Senator Edward Everett, the keynote speaker immediately preceding Lincoln that day.
“American Salute” by Morton Gould, based on “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, “Ashokan Farewell” from the PBS Civil War Series, and Wilhousky’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic” will complete the concert.
Tickets for the events are $10. E-mail jean.mauro@ww-p.org for information. Tickets may also be purchased at the doors.
