Ron Arden has been trying to program “Grand Canyon Suite” by Ferde Grofe for several years. Finally, he’s got the score and parts in hand, and he’ll direct the piece with the FullScore Chamber Orchestra at its Timeless Classics concert on Friday in Gurnee.
“The audience will love the piece,” said Arden, the group’s artistic director, who lives in Zion.
“In the piece, there are wonderful solos, including one by the concertmaster who sounds just like a donkey braying. The piece exudes what we call text painting. Each movement has a different name — on the trail, sunset, the storm, painted desert.”
Grofe, who composed the suite between 1929 and 1931, “is a master text painter. You really could close your eyes and not know anything about it and know where you’re at,” Arden said.
But the audience might want to keep its eyes open, because the program will also include a slide show to go along with the performance of “Grand Canyon Suite.”
Also on the program is G.P. Telemann’s “Double Viola Concerto,” featuring Arden and the orchestra’s new principal violist, Robert Hasspacher.
“In the baroque music world besides Bach and Handel, Telemann would be the next most famous person,” Arden said. “The viola concerto is a timeless piece played over and over and has stood the test of time.”
Orchestra founding member and principal flutist Jennifer Popowitch along with harpsichordist Donna Poucher will perform “Suite Antique,” by John Rutter. Rutter is known as a choral composer, Arden said, but a few years back he discovered a CD featuring some of Rutter’s instrumental music. He heard “Suite Antique” and loved it.
“It’s gorgeous music. It’s not just about the flute solo, but also about the lush sound of the strings,” he said.
Arden said he designs FullScore Chamber Orchestra concerts to be family friendly.
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“They’re never too long,” he said. “There’s a lot of variety. I don’t plan concerts for my baton. I plan my concerts to make the audience happy, to move them and make it as artistically satisfying to them as possible. I want them to go away asking for more.
“The audience is going to be enriched by hearing great beautiful soaring melodies and a lot of energetic rhythms. People should come to music concerts because they want to be transported to another place. That’s the purpose of our concerts.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
FullScore Chamber Orchestra: Timeless Classics
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Village Church, 1319 Hunt Club Road, Gurnee
Tickets: $15 or $18 at the door; children ages 12 and younger free
Information: 847-746-3472; www.FullScore.org