(Posted December 6, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College Orchestra will perform the deceptively titled "Simple Symphony," by acclaimed British composer Benjamin Britten, as the centerpiece of the group's concert at 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11, at Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets for the concert are $5 and children under age 18 are admitted free. Juniata students with a current college ID also are admitted free.

The Juniata orchestra is conducted by Rebekah O'Brien, lecturer in music at Juniata.

The concert will open with Bitten's "Simple Symphony," which was written by the British composer in honor of his childhood teacher. He wrote the piece when he was 20 years old and the movement titles, "Boisterous Bourree," "Playful Pizzicato," "Sentimental Saraband," and "Frolicsome Finale," reflect Britten's youth and humor. He wrote many of the themes when he was a child.

Britten was a 20th century composer known in his early career for a series of groundbreaking operas and later cemented his reputation as an influential composer with a series of orchestral works.

Next, the ensemble will play the first movement, "Lebhaft," of the "Konzertstuck, Op. 86," by the German composer Robert Schumann. Schumann wrote the Konzertstuck (German for "concert piece"), which are written for solo instruments and orchestra, in 1849. Juniata students Anne Staudenmaier, Hannah Sheridan, Alexa Zimbicki and Stephanie Schmid, all of whom play the French horn, are featured players for this work.

After intermission, the Juniata String Octet, directed by Nora Gump, lecturer in music, will play two selections. The first "Canon in D Major" by Johann Pachelbel, one of the most celebrated orchestral works written by the German Baroque composer. The popular composition is frequently heard at weddings.

The octet's second selection will be "Rondeau," by Jean-Joseph Mouret, a French Baroque composer. The piece will be familiar to concertgoers and avid television fans as the theme music for the PBS series, "Masterpiece Theater."

The entire Juniata orchestra will perform the final selection, "Finlandia, Op. 26" by Jean Sibelius. Sibelius, a Finnish composer whose career lasted well into the 20th century, is perhaps best known for this composition, which is credited with fostering the national identity of Finland as it struggled for independence from Russia before the 1917 revolution.

The Juniata College orchestra personnel is as follows

Violin 1: James Rixey, a junior from Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Valerie Deraville, a junior from Reading, Pa.; Zhongwei Hu, an international student from China; Monica McGrath, a sophomore from Warrington, Pa.; Samuel Hulse, a junior from Baltimore, Md.; Destiny Waller, a community member from Huntingdon, Pa.; Eliza Phinney, a sophomore from Oberlin, Ohio; and Erin McClure, a sophomore from Reading, Pa.

Violin 2: Amy Frantz, a junior from Mechanicsburg, Pa; Haldis Anderson, a freshman from Mooresville, N.C.; Carl Douglas, a freshman from Sioux City, Iowa; Erin Diabola, a junior from West Seneca, N.Y.; Amy Hunt, a junior from Lexington, Ky.; Carla Boyle, a community member from Huntingdon, Pa; Amanda Epstein, a freshman from Sea Cliff, N.J.; Emily Martin, a freshman from Cantonsville, Md.; Allison Smith, a freshman from Hummelstown, Pa.; and Erin Kreischer, a junior from Oberlin, Pa.

Viola: Kelly deWolfe, a freshman from Fayette, Maine; Arielle Webster, a junior from Trappe, Pa.; Adam Hopkins, a freshman from Altoona, Pa.; Sarah Lipiecki, a freshman from Haddonfield, N.J.; Ariel Cooper, a freshman from Lewisburg, Pa.; and Caitlyn Bowman, a sophomore from Seven Valleys, Pa.

Cello: Katerina Korch, a junior from Shillington, Pa.; Steve Schmitt, a senior from New Providence, Pa.; Will Thurston-Griswold, a community member from Huntingdon; Taro Takashima, an international student from Tokyo, Japan; Nathan Salamone, a sophomore from Easton, Pa.; Ashley Cunnningham, a senior from Pittsfield, Pa.; Sarah Border, a junior from Williamsport, Pa.; and Evelyn Bookhammer, a community member from Alexandria, Pa.

Bass: Elizabeth Linde, a senior from Kirkwood, Pa., and James Dulaney, a sophomore from Towanda, Pa.

Flute: Claire Wayman, a sophomore from Ontario, N.Y., and Katelyn Hilands, a freshman from Johnstown, Pa.

Piccolo: Victoria Rehr, a freshman from Wernersville, Pa.

Oboe: Laura Detwiler and Candice Kerestan, both community members.

Bassoon: Jody Butte, a lecturer in music at Juniata, and Lynn Pavlovic, a junior from Harrisburg, Pa.

B-Flat Clarinet: Leandra Glumac, a freshman from Munhall, Pa.; Nancy Vooys, a sophomore from Mount Holly Spring, Pa.; and Amanda Mercado, a freshman from Houston, Texas.

Horn: Neil Negenfind, a junior from Dauphin, Pa.; Stephanie Schmid, a sophomore from Ellicott City, Md.; Hannah Sheridan, a senior from Danville, N.H.; Anne Staudenmaier, a senior from Harrisburg, Pa.; and Alexa Zimbicki, a junior from Shippensburg, Pa.

Trumpet: Jordan Canner, a community member from Huntingdon; Doug Wennick, a community member from Huntingdon; Melissa King, a sophomore from Newtown, Conn.; and Caroline White, a sophomore from Chambersburg, Pa.

Trombone: Andrew Fouse, a community member from Huntingdon; Paul Leevan, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa.; and Aric Koestler, a freshman from Palmyra, Pa.

Bass Trombone: William Croissant, a community member from Huntingdon.

Tuba: Ryan Knepp, a community member from Huntingdon.

Timpani: Sergio Lopez, a senior from Edison, N.J.

Percussion: Amanda Durofchalk, a sophomore from Wernersville, Pa; Frank Huhn, a community member from Huntingdon; John Lugg, a sophomore from Lock Haven, Pa.; and Jessica Toot, a sophomore from New Oxford, Pa.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.