Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra to present winter concert this week

Courtesy Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra Facebook
The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra is inviting the public to enjoy a free evening of music when they play their annual Winter Concert this Thursday, March 3.
The concert is called “Symphonic Dances” and features music from throughout music history, from composers like Brahms, Schubert and Marquez. The show will be conducted by Diane Soelberg, director of bands in the Music Department at Brigham Young University-Idaho.
“The show features a great variety of composers,” Soelberg told EastIdahoNews.com. “(The selected pieces) are dances that are representative of opera. The Schubert pieces are from one of his operas. The Marquez piece is based on a conga dance. So this concert is a really great range of different types of dances, from everything you would see in an opera to something you might hear on a Saturday night in Mexico City.”
Soelberg said one of the highlights of this year’s Winter Concert is a piece called “Dances in the Canebreaks” by Florence Price.
“It’s really delightful, based on old American dances,” she said. “We don’t hear a lot from women composers, especially in the early 20th Century, so that will be one of the more unusual pieces we’ll be doing.”
Formed in 2004, the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra is an all-volunteer group that performs three concerts per year and is composed of musicians from Rexburg and the surrounding area, representing many different walks of life.
“We have people who drive in from quite a distance,” said Soelberg. “Idaho Falls to the south and surrounding areas. We have everything from doctors and lawyers to music teachers and music professionals. We even have a few high school players who are advanced enough to join us. (The Orchestra) is a great collection of people from the community.”
Soelberg has played with the Orchestra for years and was invited to be guest conductor for “Symphonic Dances.” She said she’s excited for this opportunity.
“Conducting is one of my very favorite things to do,” she said. “I’m the director of bands on the BYU-Idaho campus so I have a lot of wind conducting experience. I’ve had quite a bit of orchestral experience, as well. But it’s always fun to stand in front of a new group and prepare music with them.”
“Symphonic Dances” mixes well-known and more obscure pieces, making the concert a great opportunity for people learning about music to expand their horizons. For everyone else, it’s a wonderful chance to hear some upbeat, beautiful music.
“There are some tunes that people will hear and say ‘Oh, I know that tune but I didn’t know it was from this piece,” Soelberg said. “They’re going to hear some great soloistic music. There are some beautiful oboe solos, a great trumpet solo and it really is music you could dance to.”
The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra plays their “Symphonic Dances” concert Thursday, March 3 at the Rexburg Tabernacle at 7:30 pm. Admission is free. Follow the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra on Facebook for further information.

Courtesy Rexberg Tabernacle Orchestra Facebook

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Source: eastidahonews.com