Orchestra to feature three student soloists

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Orchestra to feature three student soloists
Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra to perform led by Director of Orchestras and Choirs James Holleman.

Experience the works of the great composers and the talents of modern musicians at the annual Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra performance in Markel Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 10.

Three winners from January’s concerto competition will perform solos with the orchestra: junior Thomas Ryskamp, senior Susena Finegan, and sophomore Keely Rendle.

“Ever since I heard about the concerto competition I have hoped to win,” Ryskamp said. “I’m glad it happened, because it is always fun to play with an orchestra, especially a good one like Hillsdale’s.”

The symphony orchestra will open with a 16-minute performance of Liszt’s “Les Preludes.” Following this symphonic poem, Ryskamp will perform a piano solo of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, first movement. Ryskamp said he stumbled across the piece when looking at a standard repertoire. 

“I listened to it, played through it, and it really appealed to me” Ryskamp said. “It has a combination of piano and orchestra. Its showy and lyrical passages create a perfect balance.”

Following the senior recognitions, a tradition at the end-of-the-year concert, Finegan will sing Menotti’s “Steal me, sweet thief” and Donizetti’s “Chacun le sait,” and Rendle will perform Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, first movement.

The symphony orchestra performance will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The 18-minute piece serves as a full orchestra “bookend” to the concert, Director of Orchestras and Choirs James Holleman said. 

“This year’s symphony orchestra includes a well-balanced program that really plays to the orchestra’s strengths, and gives enough brass, woodwind and strings participation,” Holleman said. “Don’t wait to get the tickets, though, because tradition tells us there will be a waiting list.”