Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra to present Beethoven's 'Symphony No. 9'

BAY VIEW — One of the world’s most beloved works of classical music will be performed at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, at historic John M. Hall Auditorium in Bay View when the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Chorus present Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9”.

Orchestra conductor and music director Libor Ondras will present a pre-concert lecture regarding Beethoven and his music at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the event are available at www.glcorchestra.org.

“There’s something astonishing about a deaf composer choosing to open a symphony with music that reveals, like no other music before it, the very essence of sound emerging from silence,” Ondras explained. “This symphony shows Beethoven using all the subtlety and mastery of his craft, a breakthrough work— music’s first crossover composition.”

According to Ondras, Beethoven’s grandest final symphony and most influential composition was premiered in a concert on May 7, 1824. By that time, Beethoven was almost completely deaf. He had long given up performing on piano in public, withdrawing completely from social life of Viennese society. When, in one of the most famous accounts in all music, the audience burst into applause, Beethoven couldn’t hear the ovation. He stood, his back to the crowd, leafing through his score. Only when the contralto soloist, Carolyn Unger, tapped him on the shoulder and turned him around did he see his public applauding wildly.

Also significant, this symphony represents the first by a major composer to include choral music. The fourth movement features the exultant "Ode to Joy" theme, when the orchestra is joined by a grand chorus and soloists Risa Renae Harman (soprano), Elise DesChamps (mezzo-soprano), John Bragle (tenor) and William Bokhout (baritone).

Active-duty military members, veterans, and students 18 and under qualify for complimentary tickets. To arrange handicap seating or complimentary tickets, please call the orchestra office at (231) 487-0010.

To learn more about the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and upcoming events and concerts, visit www.glcorchestra.org.