Concert Begins Season
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Concert Begins Season

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic launches season.

The Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic opens its 2005-06 season and kicks off its “206 by 2K6” fund-raising campaign in Washington on Oct. 16 at the Church of the Epiphany and in Alexandria on Oct. 23 at Bishop Ireton High School. The WMP (formerly Mount Vernon Orchestra), is an auditioned civic orchestra composed of professional and non-professional musicians that has performed in the D.C. area for over 33 years, the last 21 under the baton of Music Director Ulysses James.

The 2005-06 season promises to take audiences on “A Musical Journey Around the World” and includes concerts featuring music of England, the United States, Korea, and Scandinavia. The season opener celebrates 20th century English compositions. The program will open with Arthur Butterworth’s Romance for Horn and Strings featuring the Philharmonic’s own hornist Tara Islas followed by John Ireland’s Concerto in E Flat Major for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Stephen Bertino. The second half of the program will feature Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Two Violins and Strings with violinists Marc Ramirez and Olivia Hajioff, the husband and wife team that has received a Fulbright fellowship and awards from the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year, the European Violin Competition, and the Henryk Szerying Violin Competition, among others. The program will conclude with Benjamin Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from the opera Peter Grimes.

Other season highlights include concerts featuring Bach’s Magnificat in D and Mozart’s Requiem with the NOVA Community Chorus under the direction of Dr. Mark Whitmire; 12-year old pianist Felicia “Fifi” Zhang performing Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concert No. 2; Kazik’s world premier performance of Concerto for Euphonium and Orchestra, composed especially for the Philharmonic; American composer John Williams’ Five Sacred Trees with bassoonist Arnold Irchai; and vocal soloists MiYong Park and KiHoon Sung performing opera arias and two Korean folk songs.

Just as ambitious as the Philharmonic’s 2005-06 musical programming is its 206 by 2K6 fund-raising campaign, which hopes to raise a total of over $131,000 this season through a combination of corporate and individual sponsorships. The proceeds from the fund-raiser will be used to finance the organization’s artistic endeavors and community outreach activities.

<ro> About WMP

<lst>WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATION is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in 1987. The Association sponsors four major programs:

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic is an auditioned community orchestra composed of professional and non-professional musicians, and the orchestra in residence at Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria Campus.

Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra is an auditioned orchestra of some of the area's finest young musicians. It is the orchestra in residence at Episcopal High School.

Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Music Concerto Competition is for young musicians, 18 years and under, who compete for scholarship awards in four divisions: piano, strings, winds and percussion. The overall winner performs with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic.

Chamber Music Series are free chamber music concerts at The Lyceum (Alexandria's History Museum) in Old Town, Alexandria, offered every Sunday afternoon from June through September.

<ro>Season Guide

<lst>MUSIC OF ENGLAND

Oct. 16, 5 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, D.C.

Oct. 23, 2005, 5 p.m.

Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria

Butterworth: Romance for Horn and String Orchestra with hornist Tara Islas

Britten: Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes

Arnold: Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra with violinists Marc Rameriz and Olivia Hajioff

Ireland: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Stephen Bertino

SEASON’S GREETINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Dec. 4, 5 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, D.C.

Dec. 11, 2005, 5 p.m.

Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, Alexandria J.S. Bach: Magnificat in D, BWV 243 with NOVA Community Chorus, Dr. Mark Whitmire, Director

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor with WMPA Concerto Competition Winner Felicia Zhang

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Kazik: Concerto for Euphonium and Orchestra (World Premier) with euphoniumist Danny Helseth.

MUSIC OF THE UNITED STATES

Feb. 12, 2006, 5 p.m.

Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria

Feb. 19, 2006, 5 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, D.C. Hovhannes: Mysterious Mountain

Williams: Five Sacred Trees with bassoonist Arnold Irchai

Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite

MOZART and MUSIC OF KOREA

April 2, 2006, 5 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, D.C.

April 9, 2006, 5 p.m.

Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, AlexandriaMozart: Requiem, K. 626 with NOVA Community Chorus, Dr. Mark Whitmire, Director

Also

Ahnn: Korean National Anthem

Opera arias and Korean folk songs featuring soprano MiYong Park and baritone KiHoon Sung

Kim: “The Flower of Our Minds”

Leoncavallo: Bird Song: “Stridono lassu” from Pagliacci

Hong: “Coming Up the Old Mountain”

Mozart: “Papagana, Papagano” (from The Magic Flute)

Verdi: “Pieta, rispetto, amore” (from Macbeth)

MUSIC OF SCANDINAVIA

June 3, 2006, 7 p.m.

Church of the Epiphany, D.C.

June 4, 2006, 5 p.m.

Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria

Nielsen: Helios Overture, Op. 17 (Denmark)

Grieg: Norwegian Dances, Op. 35 (Norway)

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2, Op. 43 in D Major (Finland)