Naming a classical music concert often involves trying to put into words the complex emotions that the pieces draw upon. But in the case of “No Strings Attached,” the next performance by the Fox Valley Orchestra on Oct. 30, it’s meant quite literally — the string section is taking this one off.
“We will feature all the members of the orchestra who don’t make their sound by drawing a bow across a string,” said Stephen Squires, Fox Valley Orchestra musical director. “‘No strings attached’ means we’re doing a concert for voices, woodwinds, brass and percussion. I guess variety is the spice of life, and in the spring we’ll be doing another concert that focuses on the strings. But this is gives the woodwinds a chance to shine.”
The program will feature three pieces with just the orchestra — minus the strings — before they add the Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus for three additional performances.
“I wouldn’t say this is common, but it’s not unheard of,” Squires said. “The Chicago Symphony has done concerts like this in the past where they feature the woodwinds without the strings and vice versa. It’s a great way for music lovers to learn more about the orchestra by having a smaller component to focus on.
“It also gives an audience a chance to hear something that they wouldn’t ordinarily hear,” he said. “Most, if not all, of the great composers wrote music for smaller groups that only utilize strings or woodwinds. With a full orchestra, you’re only getting a slice of the music that these composers have written.”
The orchestral portion of the show features Mozart’s “Serenade No. 12 in C Minor,” “The Good Soldier Schweik Suite,” a 1956 composition by Robert Kurka, and “Serenade in E Flat Major, op. 7? by Richard Strauss.
Choosing the strings-less pieces wasn’t difficult for Squires, a college professor who’s been conducting woodwind groups for many years.
“These are some of my favorite pieces,” he said. “It’s a good collection with a nice cross-section of styles and interesting music.”
The Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus will then take the stage to perform three pieces as well: “Rejoice in the Lamb” composed by Benjamin Britten in 1943; “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl from 1959; and “Alleluia Cantate Domino” by Jacob Handl.
“(“Rejoice in the Lamb”) was written in the mid-20th century for chorus and organ. I’ve transcribed the organ part for a small chamber group,” Squires said. “Britten and Biebl are more contemporary composers, but they both sound like an earlier style of music.
“Jacob Handl was a Renaissance composer who wrote in a multi-choral style of the time, where you have these big churches and a big musical group on the balcony,” he said. “It’s interesting, in that the composer allows for any of these parts to be played or sung. So there was a lot of flexibility in this era, where he would write notes and say if you have somebody to sing it, sing it. If you don’t have somebody to sing it, play it.”
This enables Squires to create a version that best fits his musicians.
“We’re doing a mix pretty close to what it was intended,” he said.
This is the second concert of the Fox Valley Orchestra’s 13th season, after a performance at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church last month.
“This is somewhat of a new location for us, and it’s gone very well,” Squires said. “We had a wonderful crowd (for the first show), and we’re hoping to keep building our audience and spread the word that we’re creating great music for people in the area.
“This is a unique concert that I think people will enjoy,” he said.
Fox Valley Orchestra’s ‘No Strings Attached’
When: 3 p.m. Oct. 30
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Where: St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 27 S. Edgelawn Drive, Aurora
Tickets: $12-$24
Information: 630-891-2526; foxvalleyorchestra.org
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.