VSO Season Ends with a Roar April 30

VALDOSTA — The American Prize-winning Valdosta Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the end of its 26^th season with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527 and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, in Whitehead Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now.   

The highlight of the evening will be the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, which Dr. Howard Hsu, VSO music director and conductor, described as “a masterpiece for the orchestra that engages both the performers and the audience emotionally and intellectually. The lush and breathtaking Adagietto movement found mainstream popularity from its usage in the film A Death in Venice. 

“At times savage, bitter, furious, ironic, romantic, joyous, playful, and victorious, Mahler's Fifth is a rollercoaster of a work that will demonstrate what an excellent orchestra the VSO has become.  I've been listening to and studying this symphony for decades, but only now do I feel ready to perform it.”

Kellen Gray, VSO assistant conductor, will kick off the evening by leading the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra through Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527.  

Tickets for Saturday’s performance, which is sponsored by Valdosta Family Medicine Associates P.C., are $27 for adults and $10 for students. Senior, military, and VSU faculty and staff discounts are available.

Whitehead Auditorium is located on the first floor of Valdosta State University’s Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street.

Visit www.valdostasymphony.org or contact Sarah Cain with VSU’s College of Arts Outreach Office at (229) 333-2150 or slcain@valdosta.edu to reserve tickets or learn more. Tickets are also available at the VSO Box Office before each event.

On the Web:

http://www.valdostasymphony.org

About the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra:

Created in 1990, the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra serves both the cultural life of Valdosta and the regional academic mission of Valdosta State University. The high standard of performance of the orchestra enables it to attract guest soloists of national and international renown to the Valdosta community. The orchestra's membership is a unique blend of resident artist-faculty, students studying professional music disciplines, talented community performers, and carefully selected professionals from a five-state region. Supported by an Advisory Board of Directors, the Valdosta Symphony Guild, Valdosta State University, corporate sponsors, and hundreds of individual patrons, the orchestra has become an important part of the cultural life of the entire region. Its live performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony won the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Performance.

Valdosta State University’s 2013-2019 Strategic Plan represents a renewal of energy and commitment to the foundational principles for comprehensive institutions.

Implementation of the plan’s five goals, along with their accompanying objectives and strategies, supports VSU’s institutional mission and the University System of Georgia’s mission for comprehensive universities. 

The story above demonstrates VSU's commitment to meeting the following goals: 

Goal 1: Recruit, retain, and graduate a quality, diverse student population and prepare students for roles as leaders in a global society.

Goal 3: Promote student, employee, alumni, retiree, and community engagement in our mission.

Goal 4: Foster an environment of creativity and scholarship.

Goal 5: Develop and enhance Valdosta State’s human and physical resources.

Visit http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/planning/strategic-plan.php to learn more.