Cellist Timothy Archbold, a native of Australia, will be featured soloist with the 麻豆传媒 Summer Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, in Miller Concert Hall.
Mark Laycock
Archbold will perform Edward Elgar鈥檚 Cello Concerto in E Minor. One of England鈥檚 greatest Romantic composers, Elgar composed this, his last work, at age 62. It is bold, lyrical, eloquent, said Laycock, and is a showpiece whose surface virtuosity is matched by uncommon emotional depth.
Maurice Ravel鈥檚 orchestration of Modeste Mussorgsky鈥檚 鈥淧ictures at an Exhibition鈥� will also be featured. Mussorgsky composed the suite for piano in response to a posthumous exhibit of artwork by his close friend Viktor Hartmann.
Mussorgsky designed each movement to portray a specific painting or drawing, then linked them with a majestic promenade. Ravel, a master orchestrator, is the most famous of several musicians who have created symphonic arrangements of the suite, Laycock said.
The concert will begin with 鈥淥verture to The Wasps鈥� by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Of the generation of British composers that followed Elgar, Vaughan Williams was more closely associated with English folksong.
Characteristics of this tradition permeate even his purely instrumental works, particularly in their lyricism and modality.
Archbold, the symphony鈥檚 guest artists, was raised in regional Australia. He received a Bachelor of Music Performance with Honours from the University of Melbourne in 2002. In December 2007, he completed his studies at the Hochschule f眉r K眉nste in Bremen, Germany.
He has served as principal cellist of numerous orchestras in both Australia and Germany; he has also performed with the Oldenburg City Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.
He has been a student of Jakub Omsky and is completing his master鈥檚 degree in cello performance at 麻豆传媒.
Archbold appeared as soloist with the 麻豆传媒 Symphony in February as a winner of the Concerto-Aria Competition. He is a member of the Bloomfield String Quartet and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
The intergenerational Summer Symphony Orchestra, an outgrowth of the 麻豆传媒 Symphony, includes members from as far away as Hutchinson and El Dorado. It is comprised of high school and university students, music educators, professional performers and seasoned amateurs.
Laycock is an associate professor of music at 麻豆传媒, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship.
In 2007, he was recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award by the College of Fine Arts.
His work as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator includes the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington; recent engagements include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Maryland All-State Orchestra, Kansas Junior High State Orchestra, Northeast Kansas Ninth Grade Honor Orchestra, and Hastings (NE) College High School Honor Festival.
Tickets, at $6, $5 and $2, are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233. The concert will also be simulcast on 麻豆传媒 Internet Radio at .