NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra will present a concert on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Tickets are $16.50 each and are available at https://nnssla.org/ticket-sales. NSU, BPCC@NSU and Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts students are admitted free with a current student I.D. A livestream will be available at capa.nsula.edu/livestream.
Douglas Bakenhus is the music director, Syll-Young Olson is assistant director and Sofiko Tchetchelashvili is the instructor
The orchestra will play “Coriolan Overture,” by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major,” by W.A. Mozart featuring Assistant Professor of Flute Dr. Stephen Clark, “March and Procession of Bacchus,” from the Ballet “Sylvia” by Léo Delibes and arranged by Isaac and “Libiamo nè lieti calici” from “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi featuring the NSU Opera Ensemble directed by Dr. Robert Caldwell.
After intermission, the orchestra will perform “Of Our New Day” by Begun Omar Thomas “Adagio for Strings,” by Samuel Barber and “Russian Easter Overture,” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Clark is recipient of the 2016 Sir James Galway Rising Star Award, first prize winner of the 2018 IMKA Music Competition and first prize winner of the 2018 Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition, Clark has given over a thousand performances across all seven continents and made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2018. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Royal Northern College of Music and in Switzerland with Galway.
Recital and concerto appearances have taken him to over 120 countries and as an orchestral player, Clark has held principal flute positions with, Philharmonia Scotland, Orchestra of Glyndebourne Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra and worked with significant conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Neeme Järvi, Sir Simon Rattle, Jorma Panula and Sir Mark Elder. Clark has recorded for Classic FM, Amadeus, Voyage, BBC, Linn and for the Naxos label. In 2015, Clark was accepted into the Recording Academy of America and is now a voting member in the Grammys. His flute playing can be heard on several movie soundtracks including Disney’s “Mulan” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” Clark is author of “The Flute Gym.”
The 2023-24 season, “Symphony in the Key of Love,” will honor the late arts philanthropist and former Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society co-founder and former president Jim Bob Key. Each concert will have selections dedicated to Key. After serving as the second president of the Symphony Society in 1968-1969, Key was a lifetime member of its board of directors. He served on the National Council of the Metropolitan Opera and the regional boards of the Shreveport Symphony and Shreveport Opera. He was a member of the Louisiana State Arts Council, which founded the Louisiana Outdoor Drama Association amphitheater located at Grand Ecore. He was inducted in the NSU Creative and Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2014 and selected a Natchitoches Treasure in 2015.
