Wind Symphony presents Inspired by Literature

The Wind Symphony takes the stage at Weigel Auditorium on Wednesday, November 4, for a concert titled Inspired by Literature. The program pulls its threads from three very different writers—Voltaire, Homer, and Shakespeare—and brings in guest composer John Mackey and soprano Lindsay Kesselman to help carry them off.

The night opens with the overture to Leonard Bernstein's Candide, a 1956 comic operetta based on Voltaire's 1759 satirical novel. Bernstein called it a comic operetta and said it came closest to his ambition to write "the Great American Opera"; the overture has since become one of the most frequently performed concert openers in the orchestra and band repertoire. This version is transcribed by Clare Grundman.

From there, the focus shifts to John Mackey, who appears on stage as a guest. His Songs from the End of the World is a three-song cycle inspired by a passage in Homer's Odyssey in which the nymph Kalypso sings of her solitude and of Odysseus, set here for soprano Lindsay Kesselman. The second half of the program is Mackey's Symphony No. 2, titled The isle is full of noises, which reimagines Shakespeare's Prospero. Between the two, the concert moves from the satire of the Enlightenment to the solitude of ancient Greece and the magic of The Tempest.

Conducting the ensemble are Russel C. Mikkelson and graduate conductor Brooke Woods. The venue is Weigel Auditorium, part of the Timashev Music Building at Ohio State University—1866 College Road North, Columbus, OH 43210. The concert runs from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, it's free and open to the public, and no ticket is required.