SAN JUAN SYMPHONY TO PRESENT “COMMUNITY” CONCERT ON NOV. 20 IN DURANGO

Featuring soprano Gemma Kavanagh with the Durango Choral Society and Caliente choristers

The San Juan Symphony will present the second concert of its 2011-12 Season of Appreciation entitled “Community” with world-class soprano and Durango resident Gemma Kavanagh, as well as chorus members from Durango and Farmington, on Saturday, November 19 at 7:30 pm at Henderson Performance Hall in Farmington and on Sunday, November 20 at 3 pm at the Community Concert Hall in Durango. This concert will also feature our annual Side-by-Side with high school musicians.

Selections on the program include Handel’s Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened, Balakirev’s Overture on Three Russian Folk Songs, Copland’s Variations on a Shaker Melody, Mendelssohn’s Wedding March and Symphony No. 5, Reformation, finale, and Raminsh’s Missa Brevis in C minor performed with the vocalists.

Gemma Kavanagh began her career with the Dublin Opera and performed in many medieval castles in Ireland. After moving to California in 1994, Gemma performed with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Lyric Opera, the San Francisco Opera Guild, Opera San Jose, Berkeley Opera, Monterey Opera, Oakland Lyric Opera and Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera. Since moving to Durango in 1999, she has performed numerous times with the San Juan Symphony, Music in the Mountains, Durango Women’s Choir and 3rd Avenue Arts. Most recently, she joined the symphony in the April 2011 production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Music Director Arthur Post will preview the concert on Wednesday, November 16 at 6 pm at the Durango Arts Center. The pre-concert talk is free and open to the public.

For tickets or information, call the Henderson Hall box office in Farmington at 505-566-3430 or the Community Concert Hall ticket office in Durango at 970-247-7657.

For more information, please call the SJS office at 970-382-9753, or visit online at www.sanjuansymphony.org.