St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra's upcoming concert is inspired by dance

The St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra is focusing its upcoming program on music inspired by dance.

Artistic Director Hisham Groover will lead the orchestra through a program that includes Aaron Copland’s “El Salon México," “Danse macabre” written by Camille Saint-Saëns and Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky’s  “Symphony No. 5.”

This is the first masterworks concert of the season led under the direction of Groover.

“I wanted this first concert of my full first season to be one of a spirited nature and what better way to do that than one inspired by dance,” he said. “It’s something spirited and jubilant.”

When crafting the program, Groover looked for pieces that spanned the genre and also included some pieces with a seriousness but optimism to them.

“These three pieces are very distinct from each other and offer a glimpse into how composers melded the idea of dance into the orchestral scope,” he said. “I hope people leave this concert with a wider understanding of dance within the orchestra but I really hope people leave feeling … a joy.”

As part of the “Danse macabre” presentation, the new SCSO concertmaster Evan Shallcross will present an extensive solo.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet the new concertmaster and hear him play and just witness his technical prowess,” Groover said.

Shallcross has been playing violin since the age of 9 when he studied with Twin Cities musicians Taichi and Robin Chen. He joined youth orchestra and chamber music ensembles and went on to attend Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Yale School of Music. He continued under the tutelage of Milan Vitek and Syoko Aki.

Shallcross has performed and held positions with groups across the U.S. and abroad including the New Haven Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Macao Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and as concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Hong Kong. Shallcross co-founded the Hong Kong Chamber Music Collective and the Twin Cities-based Crossroads String Duo.

This is his first masterworks concert with the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra.

“He’s an extremely versatile player and he’s incredibly musical and technical but he also has an encouraging and supportive approach that a good concertmaster has,” Groover said.

The St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Ritsche Auditorium at St. Cloud State University.

There will be a pre-concert discussion led by Groover beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for those 65 and older and $5 for students. Tickets are available at www.stcloudsymphony.com or at the door.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra's upcoming concert is inspired by dance