By Jaykob Smith
This Friday, Feb. 17, the Kent Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO), will be holding their first concert of the year.
The event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Royce Music Hall in the St. Cecilia Music Center. The theme for this concert is Nordic Winter; as Libor Ondras, the conductor of the KPO and associate professor at Grand Rapids Community College, explained it is because “…both Sibelius and Grieg are Scandinavian composers.”
Sibelius’ “Finlandia” and Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite 1 and 2” are two of the pieces that will be performed. The third and final piece will be Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E Minor.” This last piece will have Dylana Jensen as the soloist.
Jensen is a world renowned violinist who was a child prodigy growing up. Jensen has received many accolades and is someone Ondras is happy to have performed with KPO.
“She was 17 when she won the Tchaikovsky International Competition, silver medal,” Ondras said. “That’s the first American woman to get that coveted prize.”
Along with the high praise Ondras said that she was a more than suitable replacement for the original soloist, Kara Huber. Originally the concert was going to be performing Grieg’s “Piano Concerto” in place of Mendelssohn, however, due to scheduling, Huber was unable to perform with the KPO.
Ondras was to assure all concert goers that they are very prepared and they have been rehearsing the updated roster since the beginning of January. For those who are interested in attending Ondras said, “We need [an] audience… You don’t need to know much about it, just be open minded and open your ears and your heart and let the music touch you.”
Admission costs are $14 for adults, $7 for students/veterans/seniors (55 and older), and free for students at GRCC with a valid student ID.
