Local orchestra to perform some ‘best-loved’ Romantic music

REXBURG — The Romantic music of Peter Tchaikovsky, internationally-known Russian composer, will fill the Rexburg Tabernacle Civic Center on Thursday, Nov. 2.

The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Seare, will be performing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, “Winter Daydreams” and the overture-fantasy, Romeo and Juliet, orchestra management announced in a news release.

“The musical love themes of Romeo and Juliet have been used in so many movies and TV shows, to the point that most people could hum along,” says Dan North, a French horn player with the community ensemble.

“It is some of the best-loved music ever written,” adds Millie Wessel, first violinist.

According to information provided in the news release:

Tchaikovsky was one of several prominent 19th-century composers who chose to use characters and stories from Shakespeare to inspire their music. He is known to have maintained that Symphony No. 1 “fundamentally has more substance and is better than any of my other more mature works.”

The Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra has been entertaining audiences for 20 years. As a community orchestra, it is composed of professional musicians, educators, students and musicians from the Upper Valley. The musicians are volunteers; however, they are all highly skilled and deeply dedicated, according to the news release.

The orchestra holds three free concerts per season, which are sponsored by the City of Rexburg. Donations are encouraged.

All the proceeds will be used to maintain the orchestra as well as the historic, 100-year-old tabernacle, orchestra manager Gwyn Harris says in the release.

The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Rexburg Tabernacle Civic Center is at 51 North Center Street.