NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra will present a concert on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall, Tickets are $15.75 each and can be purchased online at https://nnssla.org/ticket-sales. NSU, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts and BPCC@NSU students are admitted free with a current student I.D. A livestream will be available at capa.nsula.edu/livestream. 

Dr. Doug Bakenhus is musical director and conductor of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra. The concert is titled “Music of Love and Loss” and will feature NSU faculty member Dr. Robert Cardwell singing Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer.” Also, on the program is Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” along with music of 18th century French composer, Jean Philippe Rameau and his “tendre amour” from his love story opera “Les Indes Galantes.”  

Bakenhus said the music by Rameau is from an opera composed in the 1730s in Paris inspired by two Louisiana Indian chiefs who went to King Louis IV’s court in the late 1720s and performed their music. Excerpts of the work were performed at a 2014 concert celebrating Natchitoches’ tricentennial. 

The opera is a love story set in a forest in America where the French and the Spanish meet. The story is about a Spanish officer and French officer vying for the affections of an Indian chief’s daughter.  

“She rejects the Spaniard because he is too extroverted and the Frenchmen because he was too introverted. In other words not because of where they were from but because of their personalities thus decides to stay with her own,” said Bakenhus. “The third movement dance has a chorus that sings, ‘If we don’t have vain thoughts, we can all live together in this peaceful forest.’ 

In the Mahler work, Bakenhus said peace is found under a Linden tree in the fourth movement. 

The program also includes “Intermezzo from “Cavalleria rusticana” (“Rustic Chivalry”)”by Pietro Masagni, an intermezzo is from an opera where the character Suzanna in front of a church contemplates if the one she loves, loves her. The orchestra will play “Le Jardin féerique” (“Fairy Garden” also known as “The Enchanted Garden” by Maurice Ravel from “Ma mère L’Oye Suite” (“My Mother the Goose Suite”) from a ballet that tells the story of a prince accompanied by Cupid, find a sleeping princess. Cupid unites them and the Fairy enters, blesses them and the garden in colorful flowers. and “Danzón No. 2” Arturo Márquez, celebratory dances from Vera Cruz, Mexico. 

Cardwell recently completed a professional fellowship with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, where he made his role debut as Friedrich Bhaer in Adamo’s “Little Women.” As an apprentice artist for Sarasota Opera, Cardwell was seen in Verdi’s “Aida,” “La battaglia di Legnano” and Beethoven’s “Fidelio.” After completing his apprenticeship, he went on to sing the role of Sciarrone in “Tosca” with the Central Florida Lyric Opera. Cardwell sang the title role in Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” in addition to a series of opera aria and scenes concerts with the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival in Italy. He also sang the title role of Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia” and Tonio in Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci” with the UNT Opera. Other roles with UNT Opera include Baron Zeta in “The Merry Widow,” The Duke in “Romeo et Juliette” and The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance.” Equally at home on the concert stage, Cardwell has served as the baritone/bass soloist in Beethoven’s “9th Symphony,” Handel’s “The Messiah,” Stainer’s “The Crucifixion” and Dubois’ “The Seven Last Words” with churches and organizations throughout Texas. 

Cardwell made his role debut as Giorgio Germont in “La Traviata” with the Soma International Foundation in Houston. He went on to win the Robin Angly & Miles Smith Award in the Lois Alba Aria Competition and was a semi-finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. He is a recipient of Amarillo Opera’s Mila Gibson Fund for Young Artist Awards and a winner of the Edward Baird Singer of the Year Competition at the Texoma Regional Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Cardwell completed the Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Performance at West Texas A&M University. During his time in the Texas Panhandle, he received numerous scholarships, as well as favorable reviews for his operatic roles with WTAMU Opera and Amarillo Opera: the title roles in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “Le nozze di Figaro,” Guglielmo in “Cosi fan tutte,” Monterone in “Rigoletto,” Roberto in “Vives’ Bohemios” and Hosie Roach in “Cold Sassy Tree.” A recent graduate of the University of North Texas doctoral program, His research interests include the promotion of cultural diversity and inclusion in the voice studio through the use of voice repertoire by composers and poets/librettists from underrepresented groups, specifically the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. 

For more information go to nnssla.org.