“To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra is pulling out all the musical stops,” writes Kelly Urban in Saturday’s (5/4) Tribune Democrat (Johnstown, PA). On Saturday, “the symphony will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (‘Resurrection’), the largest single piece of music that the orchestra has ever presented…. The JSO is going back to its roots by performing at Cochran Auditorium, where it performed for decades before moving to the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center…. The 90-plus member JSO will be joined by soloists soprano Sarah Brailey and mezzo-soprano Silvie Jensen; the Johnstown Symphony Chorus … and the State College Choral Society…. James Blachly, the orchestra’s music director … said that, at its essence, the piece is about overcoming a great struggle… ‘In a truly remarkable coincidence, the piece was begun in 1889, the year of the Johnstown Flood, and we perform it on the 130th anniversary of that terrible event, in part as a way of commemorating the rebirth of the city throughout its history,’ he said…. Audience members are invited to attend [a] pre-concert talk…. Following the concert, attendees will be invited to stay for a post-concert discussion with Blachly and orchestra members.”
Posted May 7, 2019
