2 past events with the dessert concert tag

Contact:Van Nelson                                                                 Tel. 765-748-1851

Email: vnelson38@att.net

East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra will hold its first concert of the year at 7:30 p.m. on March 23 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts. Pie and refreshments will be provided for those who make reservations at the dessert concert in the Colonnade Room of the art center. The evening’s performance will also feature the Youth Symphony Orchestra of East Central Indiana, directed by Dr. Karin Hendriks.

The ECICO has had a dessert concert for the past eight years, said Van Nelson, the group’s director. He explained that it is the group’s version of a pops concert, as they usually play light classical selections as well as music from movies and musicals. Some of the pieces currently being planned for the Saturday concert are Franz Suppe’s “Light Calvary Overture,” “Serenata” by Leroy Anderson, and “Orpheus” by Jacques Offenbach. The ECICO will also perform a selection of pieces composed by John Williams from the famous movie, Schindler’s List.

The YSOECI will also play its own John Williams selection, “Themes from Harry Potter,” a medley of music from the very popular series. The selection was arranged by Paul Cook and adapted for the YSOECI by Ryan Bischoff, a Ball State student. The ECICO and its guest, the YSOECI, will also combine to play a medley of music from the recent movie adaptation of Les Misérables.

The Youth Symphony Orchestra of East Central Indiana was founded in 1964 to provide an outlet for middle school and high school orchestral musicians. A part of the Muncie community for such a long time, the group is currently working on an “immersive learning” project with Ball State students.  Dr. Hendriks explained this partnership is a way to help revitalize the program and ensure it “becomes a functioning, thriving, and growing youth symphony program in Delaware County.”

Dr. Hendriks is an assistant professor of music education at Ball State University. She has taught as a public school orchestra instructor for thirteen years and has won several awards for her skills in teaching. A private cello teacher for over 25 years, Dr. Hendriks was even once recognized by then First Lady Laura Bush in 2003. She has also collaborated in education projects with several international soloists and chamber ensembles.

Leading the ECICO will be Javier Mendoza who was hired as the ECICO’s new conductor just this fall. Mendoza is currently music director and conductor of the Chicago Arts Orchestra and a guest conductor for El Sistema Nacional de Bandas, Orquestras y Coros de Guatemala. Some of his past accomplishments include guest conducting for the Boris Liatoshnisky Chamber Orchestra in the Ukraine during an International Conductors Festival and working as the artistic director for the International Music Festival of the Americas in summer 2009 in Guatemala. 

The concert is free and open to the public. Desserts are optional and $8 per person. Reservations for desserts and any inquiries about the evening’s performance may be made by contacting Van Nelson.