Symphonic Pops: An evening with The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra

The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, joined by student aria and concerto competition winners, presented Symphonic Pops on March 4 in Bedell Performance Hall.

The evening was filled with music for sound and stage, along with the student talents of voice, horn and flute.

Among these students were sophomore music education major Brianna McFall on flute, junior undergraduate horn performance major Jordan Pavelka on horn and senior mezzo-soprano vocal performance major Elizabeth Brennecke.

Assistant professor of low strings and director of orchestra Dr. Patrick Hopkins shared the significance of the concerto and aria winners collaborating with the orchestra.

“I think it’s a really special opportunity for the community to hear what talent we have here at SEMO,” Hopkins said. “Especially in this case, we had such a wide variety: horn, voice, and flute. Something from different styles, something for everybody."

Pavelka joined the orchestra to perform Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No.1 in E-flat Major, Op.11.

She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to perform with a live orchestra.

“I cannot put it into words...it’s really a once in a lifetime experience and I really enjoyed it,” Pavelka said. “I hope for many more to come, it was awesome.”

The concert also featured music by John Williams, such as Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Imperial March from Star Wars.

Junior trombone music performance major William Wallace explained these orchestral pieces involved complex techniques and required high levels of skill to perform.

“The hardest part about preparing for the performance hands down was the wide arrangement of difficult melodies by John Williams,” Wallace said. “The preparation was deeply rooted in hearty musicianship and a lot of musicianship was needed for this.”

The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra’s next performance will be Chichester Psalms with SEMO Choirs on Apr. 29 in Bedell Performance Hall.