April 9 , 2009
MSO’s 27th Season, Expect Something Great, Comes to A Close on April 25 & 26

Hagerstown, MD—Expect to be Awed when the Maryland Symphony Orchestra’s MasterWorks Series comes to a dramatic close with A Symphonic Space Odyssey on Saturday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m. in the historic Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown.

The MSO will explore the heavens with the music of Carl Nielsen, Claude Debussy, John Williams and Gustav Holst.  “Planets, stars and satellites will receive their musical due when the orchestra lifts off in spectacular fashion,” says Music Director Elizabeth Schulze. 

Gustav Holst’s The Planets will be paired with a three dimensional presentation of our solar system using NASA photographs and choreographed to the music of the seven movement suite.  Through the music and images, projected on a screen above the orchestra, audience members will journey across the Martian landscape and fly through Saturn’s rings. 

Holst is a composer, educator and conductor who is known outside his native England as, essentially, a one-work composer.  The Planets, however, composed between 1914 and 1916, gained him international fame with its opulent music and broad orchestral palette.  This is not subtle music.  It is big.  It is bombastic.  Above all, it is exciting and moving.  The more astute listener will recognize snippets of this work that were used in a variety of television commercials.  Holst arranged the movements according to musical, not astronomical, criteria so the order does not correspond to the planets orbital distance from the sun.  The Suite begins with Mars, the Bringer of War and ends with Neptune, the Mystic—a movement in which the Women of the Hood College Choir will be adding their voices. 

Complementing the solar system theme will be performances of John Williams’ Star Wars Theme; Clair de lune by Claude Debussy (who had an asteroid named after him in 1988); and Helios Overture, Op. 17 by Carl Nielsen, whose inspiration came from viewing the rising and setting sun over the Aegean Sea.  

Program notes and audio clips of the musical selections being performed are available at www.marylandsymphony.org by clicking on the Audio Program Notes on the performance page.  All tickets holders are welcome to attend Prelude which takes place one hour before each concert.  Music Director Elizabeth Schulze shares information on featured composers and works that will enhance concert-goers enjoyment and appreciation of the concert. 

Tickets, starting at $22, may be purchased online at www.marylandsymphony.org or by calling 301-797-4000.  Student rush tickets (no reservations accepted) are also available at the box office beginning 90 minutes before each performance for $5.00.  Seat selection will be at the discretion of box office personnel. 

The “Symphonic Space Odyssey” Celebration Sponsor is Preston Partner’s, Inc.; Silver Baton Sponsors are Larry & Kelli Guillard; and, the Conductor’s Circle Sponsors are Ruth Anne & Art Callaham, Mercedes-Benz of Hagerstown, RBC Wealth Management and Next Dimensions. 

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra is also supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.  An agency of the Department of Business and Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities.