MASTERWORKS CONCERT BY ORCHESTRA, QUINTET AND CHORUS

Leah Kohn, class of 2008, writes: Preparation for the annual Masterworks Concert had been underway since the beginning of the winter, and everyone rose to the challenge posed by a difficult repertoire and many snow days.

The Orchestra’s first notes were the brass fanfare which begins the energetic Light Cavalry Overture (von Suppe). The Orchestra then tackled the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, which calls for a great deal of musicality and precision from both the string and wind sections. The Footnotes, a 30-member auditioned choral group, performed "Like a Mighty Stream" (an American gospel song), "Cantique de Jean Racine" by Faure, and "The Battle of Jericho,” a spiritual.

The Woodwind Quintet, a student-organized and directed ensemble made up of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn, presented three movements from Ferenc Farkas's "Early Hungarian Dances": "Intrada,” the lyrical "Chorea,” and the lively "Leaping Dance.”

The peak of the evening was Haydn's "Te Deum,” an intense 12-minute work presented jointly by the Chorus and Orchestra. This year the singers had the special opportunity to work with Louis Burkot, director of the Dartmouth Glee Club and Opera North, who led several rehearsals and conducted the performance.