425 West Western Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49440
USA
In this, the opening concert of the 2015-16 season, Music Director Scott Speck will bring together music from three continents, beginning with Austin Wintory’s “Apotheosis” from the PlayStation 3 video game Journey™. Wintory’s score won numerous awards and became the first ever video game score to be nominated for a Grammy. Explore the ancient, mysterious world of Journey™ as the music soars above ruins and glides across sands to discover its secrets. “Apotheosis” captures the wonderfully artistic nature of Journey™, adding emotion to the incredible environments and landscapes players pass through while experiencing the game.
Then guest artist WuMan brings Chinese pipa music to Muskegon. The pipa has a 2000 year history in China, but Wu Man is confident that this beautiful instrument still has a place in modern music. Grammy nominated WuMan will be featured in Zhou Jiping’s Concerto no. 2, a new work partially commissioned by the Symphony.
The orchestra’s final piece is the Second Symphony written by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. While Rachmaninoff was uncertain his “new” symphony would resonate with audiences, its 1908 premiere turned out to be an enormous success. Influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff dedicated his second symphony to one of Tchaikovsky’s pupils, Sergei Taneyev.
