The works of a musical wunderkind will comprise the “Amadeus!” concert by the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.
The Auditorium at Bethel Church is the site of Oct. 23’s celebration of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Clips and still images from the 1984 film “Amadeus” will complement vaunted pieces that include the overture to “The Marriage of Figaro,” the finale of “Symphony No. 34” and a portion of a flute and harp concerto.
The Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus is set to add vocal prowess to the 7:30 p.m. Crown Point performance. The Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus will perform, as will mezzo-soprano Julie Miller, tenor John Irvin and Ted Pickell, bass.
The three vocalists have gained experience in an artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Promotional material from the orchestra calls Mozart “one of history’s most prolific and influential music makers.”
The regal sound of the harpsichord will be showcased in “Concerto No. 9” at the intimate auditorium.
“We’re going to do the last movement of it,” Kirk Muspratt, the orchestra’s conductor and music director, said.
The harpsichord ranks as an out-of-the-ordinary instrument nowadays, but Pat Lee — the orchestra’s principal keyboardist — is no stranger to it.
“I play harpsichord all the time; I own four of them,” said Lee, a resident of Park Forest, Ill. At the Friday concert, she will be playing one of her harpsichords. “It’s about seven feet long and about 30 inches wide,” Lee related.
Featuring strings that are plucked, the keyboard instrument is heavy and sizable, but Lee said its tone is not: “It’s a very delicate sound.” The harpsichord was mastered at an early age by Mozart, who is said to have been identifying chords on it by the age of three — and composing music at five.
Closing the concert will be “Requiem,” which Muspratt describes as a Mozart work “that he was writing as he lay dying” in 1791.
Although brilliant, it is incomplete. “He didn’t finish it, actually,” Muspratt noted. The vocals of Julie Miller are going to contribute to the “Requiem” finale.
“I really enjoy singing music by Mozart,” she said. “As a listener and musician, I find his musical style and treatment of text to be phenomenal. More specifically as a singer, I feel that his treatment of vocal lines and his understanding of the human voice are second to none.”
Also known as “Requiem in D Minor,” the concert’s closing work boasts a rich atmosphere. “It’s powerful; it is extremely dark and dramatic,” Muspratt said. “It is spiritual. It is thought-filled.” There likewise are moments in the work are “very reflective,” the conductor said.
In general, Mozart’s music is technically challenging for orchestras to play, according to the maestro. “It’s incredibly diverse, it’s full of wit” Muspratt said. “It’s often very romantic — in a classical way it’s romantic.”
Those with tickets can join Muspratt at the Crown Point venue for a 6:15 p.m. preconcert lecture about the evening’s performance.
More Top Picks Best Hunting Blinds
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer.
“Amadeus!”
Bethel Church Auditorium, 10202 Broadway, Crown Point
7:30 p.m. Oct. 23
Tickets: $29-$69; student tickets are $10
Information: 219-836-0525 or www.nisorchestra.org