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Orchestra plans ‘Random Act of Music’ in Oxford

Midday Music series allows smaller ensembles to present concerts around the area.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer Updated 11:09 AM Monday, September 14, 2009

The Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra raises the volume a little with a “Random Acts of Music” performance as part of the Midday Music in Oxford series next week.

According to musical director Paul Stanbery, the HFSO series was created with a grant from the Bever-Ruder Family fund to allow the symphony to expand its offerings by presenting concerts of smaller ensembles.

“This new series opens up an entirely new world of music for our audiences, and allows us the flexibility to spread the good news of classical music to our loyal supporters,” Stanbery said.

Previous Random Acts of Music concerts have featured a trio and a quintet, but next week’s pogram will feature a “chamber orchestra,” which is basically the string section from the larger HFSO.

They will perform at noon Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Oxford Presbyterian Church as part of the Midday Music in Oxford series.

“This all came about when I was making plans with Jack Daugherty in Oxford, and he said it would be nice if we could kick this off with something bigger than a quartet or a trio,” Stanbery said. “So we started making plans to create the HFSO Chamber Orchestra.”

The Oxford program will feature a performance of Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings and Timpani by Francis Poulenc, which came about as a request from Daugherty, who cites it among his favorite pieces of music ever.

“To my recollection, I know of no presentation of this rarely performed piece in our vicinity, as I’d of been there if there had been,” he said. “This work has been on my wishlist for years and never thought it would occur because of my limited resources.”

That performance will feature organist Heather MacPhail, who is both a member of the Miami University music faculty as well as a long-time friend of Stanbery’s.

“It’s a real fun piece,” Stanbery said, “fast and loud with a whole lot of interesting colorations.”

Also on the program will be Mozart’s famous “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik;” “Jerusalem Laud,” a three-movement concerto by Philip Koplow that explores Gregorian chants, protestant hymns and the national anthem of Israel; and variations on Rumanian Folk Dances by Bela Bartok.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.