Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Orchestra Season 45 Winter Concert

On Sunday January 7 at 3:00 PM, the Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Orchestra (LSCO) opens its 45th season with its winter concert at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. The program is the first of three full concerts in an expanded offering this season.

Benjamin Vickers, in his third full season as conductor, leads the orchestra in the program which features classics in orchestra repertoire, including “The Moldau” by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, and Symphony #4 by Robert Schumann. LSCO principal Cellist Seth MacLeod is the featured soloist in a performance of the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D Major by Franz Joseph Haydn.

“LSCO continues to make great music and has been a consistent musical force in Lincoln and Sudbury since 1973. This program starts off a great season as we expand to three concerts, including a joint project with Memorial Congregational Church and the Wayland Unitarian Church. In our final program in June we return to a pops concert format, with something for every listener”, says conductor Vickers.

Opening the program is the beloved masterpiece by Bedrich Smetana, “The Moldau“. The second in the six movement collection “Ma vlast”, (“My Homeland”), its Czech title “Vltava” is taken from the famous river that runs through the Czechoslovakia of the 19th century. In the collection, Smetana combined the symphonic poem form pioneered by Franz Liszt with the ideals of nationalistic music which were current in the late nineteenth century. Each poem depicts some aspect of the countryside, history, or legends of Bohemia.

Franz Joseph Haydn’s Cello concerto in D major completes the first half, with LSCO principal cellist Seth MacLeod in the solo seat.

Seth MacLeod earned a BM in cello performance from Boston University, where he studied with Michael Reynolds and George Neikrug. Mr. Neikrug dedicated a cadenza he composed for the Dvořák Cello Concerto to Seth MacLeod.Mr. MacLeod has performed as a soloist with the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra and the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra. He is the principal cellist of the Boston Civic Symphony and the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. He plays on a cello made by Ken Meyer.Mr. MacLeod currently teaches at 77 Arts Academy in Acton, Lincoln Public Schools, The Fay School, and St. Mark’s School. He has also taught as a coach at the New England Conservatory’s Festival Youth Orchestra and the Common Time Music Studio Summer Workshop in Lexington.

The second half features the masterwork by German Robert Schumann, Symphony #4. Originally composed in 1841, and rescored ten years later, the work is in four-movements, but they are generally all played without pause between the movements. The earlier version, more lightly scored, was the preferred version by Johannes Brahms, who published it in 1891. This publication was made over the objection of Schumann’s widow Clara, who felt strongly that the 1851 version with more weight and heavier scoring was the official version. It’s the latter that LSCO presents in this concert.

LSCO is a volunteer community orchestra comprising high school students and adult community members who share a love for preparing and performing substantial orchestral repertoire. The members have classical music training at the intermediate to advanced level and rehearse weekly Tuesday evenings at LSRHS. Although the scores studied and performed are the original professional scores (not arrangements for school ensembles), professional performing experience is not a requirement for membership. Members are not required to reside in Lincoln or Sudbury; the orchestra welcomes musicians regardless of town of residence.

Admission is a suggested donation of $10. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School is located at 390 Lincoln Rd in Sudbury.

The LSCO Spring Concert is scheduled for Sunday June 10 at 3:00 PM.

Musicians interested in joining LSCO should contact the orchestra by email at lscivicorchestra@gmail.com, or visit http://www.lsrhs.net/sites/civicorchestra.