MIT Symphony Opens 2009-10 Season: Oct. 15

Adam Boyles conducts MITSO

For Immediate Release: Sept. 25, 2009

Contact:
Joya Abbott-Graves
MIT Symphony Orchestra Manager
Email joya@mit.edu
(617) 452-2394

Cambridge, MA... The MIT Symphony Orchestra (MITSO), under the direction of Dr. Adam Boyles, opens its 2009-2010 season with favorites spanning 200 years. The concert will take place on Thursday, October 15 at 8 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, 84 Massachusetts Ave. Kresge Auditorium is handicapped accessible and is located opposite MIT's main entrance on Massachusetts Ave. This event is open to the public, and admission is $5 at the door.

The concert will open with John Williams' The Cowboys Overture, followed by Mozart's "Prague" Symphony. According to Boyles, "these two works share much more in common than might initially be apparent, and their juxtaposition is meant to examine the meaning of symphonic 'pops' music."

The witty and sparkling Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten will highlight MITSO's string section. In this work, the 20 year-old Britten took themes he wrote as a child, and expanded them into this suite for string orchestra. The evening will culminate with a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's brilliantly orchestrated Capriccio espagnol. A concert favorite since its premiere in 1887, the work evokes the sights and sounds of Spanish festivals and folk music.

"We are very excited to present a concert at the start of Family Weekend," said Boyles, "and we welcome the families of our MIT students to come and enjoy an evening of great music."

The students in MITSO come from a variety of fields including: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Mathematics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Management, Architecture, and Materials Science & Engineering. Very few students at MIT actually major in music. Some pursue double majors in music and science or music and engineering, but most students pursue music as an extracurricular activity. The central mission of the MIT Symphony Orchestra is the cultural enhancement of education at MIT by promoting music performance at the highest level of artistic excellence among MIT students, by nurturing new works and young artists, and by developing and sustaining the widest possible audience.