Civic Symphony tackles overture for season opener

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 8:55 a.m.

Inspired by his 1829 visit to the western coast of Scotland, German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote the "Hebrides Overtures," which captured the grandeur of the area's rock formations and the rhythmic wave patterns mingling with the islands.

On Sunday the Las Vegas Civic Symphony will perform "Fingal's Cave Overture," the first of "Hebrides Overtures," at its season opener at Reed Whipple Cultural Center.

"It's a very popular piece of orchestral literature," Alan Lewis, director of the Las Vegas Civic Symphony, said. "It's a romantic piece. It sounds like the waves crashing against the island."

The orchestra will also perform Vivaldi's "Piccolo Concerto in C Major," which will feature local flutists Kym Smyth Krempel and Kim Schaefer, and Bach's "Double Violin Concerto in D Minor," with violinists Osvaldo Baletta and Zina Montrose.

"The last two years we've been doing a lot of contemporary music, 20th century -- Roy Harris, Aaron Copeland, Stravinsky." Lewis said. "This takes us back to the early well-known composers of orchestral literature."

The orchestra, comprised of professional and community musicians, is in its 26th season performing in the Las Vegas Valley. Its next performance will be its traditional seasonal music show Dec. 16, which will feature familiar holiday music, such as the Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite."