Événement

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CONCERT

COMMUNITY WOMEN'S ORCHESTRA
Dr. Kathleen McGuire, conductor
Jessica Bejarano, assistant conductor

presents its annual

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CONCERT
featuring music by Amy Beach, Claude Debussy, and Lars-Erik Larsson.

DETAILS:
The Community Women's Orchestra (CWO), now in its 28th season, presents its annual International Women's Day Concert on Sunday, March 3, 5:00 pm at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church in Oakland. The program features works by Claude Debussy, Lars-Erik Larsson, and Amy Beach.

This will also be the final concert with CWO for conductor Dr. Kathleen McGuire, who is moving to Australia after serving at the helm of the orchestra since 2005.

To celebrate International Women's Day, CWO's soloists are featured. Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, one of the composer's most renowned works, highlights the playing of flutist Kristin Brooks-Davidman and harpist Susanna England. Swedish 20th-century composer Lars-Erik Larsson composed a set of concertinos for 12 different instruments; the March concert includes his concertino for French horn, featuring soloist Heidi Trefethen.

The concert will culminate in one of the grandest works of the Romantic era, composed by American composer Amy Beach in 1896: the Gaelic Symphony. For over half a century, Beach was the only recognized woman composer in the USA, and one of only a handful in the world.

CWO conductor Dr. Kathleen McGuire said: "Beach's large-scale symphony has become a war-horse of the repertoire, although it is seldom played these days. It is very exciting indeed to be performing it with an all-female orchestra. The work stands alongside symphonies by her contemporaries, including Brahms and Dvorak, as an epic statement of the nationalism and romanticism that embody its four movements."

The Community Women's Orchestra, established in 1985, is a volunteer, all-female orchestra committed to promoting women's orchestral music in a fun and welcoming environment. Each CWO concert feature at least one work by a woman composer as part of its ongoing Women Composers series. For more information, visit: www.communitywomensorchestra.org.