Really?

Who’s thinking that that discovery in classical music is possible? Across three centuries?

Juno Orchestra is betting that its third and final program of the 2018-19 season will offer a sturdy handful of discoveries for every audience member! Our bet is that the title, Discoveries, will not have been a simple ploy.

A reminder, just in case: Juno Orchestra is Vermont’s newest professional chamber orchestra and is currently in residence at the Brattleboro Music Center.

Serenity, a new composition by local composer Paul Dedell

We are especially thrilled to introduce a commissioned work by composer local composer Paul Dedell, titled Serenity. Together, the orchestra and audiences will discover a recently conceived take on New England’s seasons.

“I’ve been inspired by the life and words of Henry David Thoreau,” noted Dedell, as he spoke about the development of the new work. “I’ve been struck by the vitality of Thoreau’s language and impressions. It’s a special opportunity indeed to contemplate ways to highlight Juno’s special strengths.”

Discovery: Astronomer composer

Juno will present another opportunity for discovery in a stirring string symphony by the variously talented Englishman William Herschel. Believe it or not, Herschel is the astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus in 1781 (ten years before Vermont became a state). Not commonly known in the music world, but widely recognized in the world of astronomy, Herschel composed more than 20 symphonies in a style not unlike Mozart and Haydn. Symphony No. 8 in D minor is striking in its “Sturm und Drang” (storm and stress) expressivity and coloration.

Discovery: But did you know THIS piece?

Juno offers audiences yet another discovery: a rarely heard, beautifully evocative work by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Impromptu, created in 1894 for string orchestra, melds two early piano pieces into a gratifyingly expressive piece in ABA song form. The short piece is so completely at rest, evoking wistful remembrances.

Discovery: Can one ever finish discovering Haydn’s symphonies?

The fourth discovery is Haydn’s 43rd Symphony in E-flat Major, Mercury. Absolutely another example of Haydn’s “Strum und Drang” period (in this case, splendidly non-uniform), this particular symphony offers warm-hearted insights into Haydn’s unquenchable wit and compositional inventiveness. (E-flat is a good-spirited, well-wishing key for Haydn. If you want to hear a reliably pleasant Haydn string quartet, choose one in E-flat major.) Specifically, audiences will discover Haydn’s perspective on procrastination, crackling speed, perfectly well-mannered melodic repetition, as well as simple, unadorned loveliness. Though the Mercury nickname has no real connection to the piece (it was added much later, in the 19th century), the title offers, for the coming concert program,  a friendly nod to astronomer and composer William Herschel.

Concerts
Saturday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 2, 4 p.m.
Brattleboro Music Center, 72 Blanche Moyse Way, Brattleboro

Program
Paul Dedell, Serenity 
William Herschel, Symphony No. 8 in D minor
Jean Sibelius, Impromptu, Op. 5
Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 43 in E-flat Major, Mercury

Tickets
$40, $20, $10. Available 802.257.4523 or online

For more information, visit www.junoorchestra.org or call 802.380.9550.