Orchestra to Honor Mozart’s 250th B-Day

The Westmont Chamber Orchestra will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth at two concerts, Friday, Nov. 3 in Abravanel Hall at the Music Academy of the West, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 5 at First Presbyterian Church, 21 East Constance, at 7 p.m. General admission is $5, students are free.

The concert Friday, Nov. 3, will feature a presentation with Robert Snyder, senior district manager for Steinway and Sons, dedicating Westmont as an “All Steinway School.”
It will also be the local debut performance of Philip Ficsor, Westmont’s new professor of violin.
The program will begin with the hymn, “Love Divine, All Love’s Excelling.” The remainder of the concert will be devoted to Mozart’s music. The performance will include Mozart's “Symphony #10 in G Major” K. 74, “Violin Concerto # 5 in A Major” K. 219, and “Piano Concerto #6 in B Flat Major” K. 238.

Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, says he intentionally chose pieces Mozart wrote between the ages of 14 and 21.

“We picked works that were written by Mozart at the same age or younger than our musicians,” he says. “It’s mind boggling to think Mozart was composing these pieces and it’s right there in front of the students.”

Ficsor will perform the violin concerto and Steve Hodson, professor of music, will perform the piano concerto following the plaque presentation.

“The audience will leave with a sense of celebration of the extraordinary work of these young student musicians,” says Shasberger, “and a sense of the joy that comes from the playing and the exuberance of their work.