Zeke Fetrow

Concord Orchestra presents first concert of the season

October 5, 2023

The Concord Orchestra presents “Romantic Ethos” at 8 p.m . on October 14 and 2:30 p.m. on October 15 at the Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden. The orchestra, directed by Music Director Zeke Fetrow, performs a program of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Jean Sibelius’ King Kristian II Suite, and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 (Romantic). A pre-concert talk by the conductor is scheduled for Saturday at 7:15 p.m. 

The Concord Orchestra is excited to present the first concert of the 2023-2024 season conducted by its new music director, Zeke Fetrow.  

The former music director of the Grande Ronde Symphony Orchestra has served as the assistant conductor of the Eastman Philharmonia, University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Opera, Oregon Mozart Players, and Oregon Music Festival. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music and holds a dual Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Oregon in both Orchestral Conducting and Choral Conducting. He has participated in conducting competitions across the globe and in workshops and masterclasses with many of the industry’s leading teachers. 

Beethoven wrote his Coriolan Overture for Heinrich von Collin’s play, Coriolan, based on Shakespeare’s less frequently performed tragedy, Coriolanus. Collin’s play has long been forgotten, but the overture has lived on in part because it is so representative of Beethoven’s dramatic style. 

Jean Sibelius wrote music for a play about a king who fell in love with a commoner and later used some of the pieces as movements of the King Kristian Suite II. While this is an early work predating his famous Finlandia and his symphonies, his style is already fully developed. 

Howard Hanson was born in Nebraska and became the first director of the Eastman School of Music. His Symphony No. 2, written on commission from Serge Koussevitzky for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1930, was much more romantic than the contemporary music of the time.   

Please join us for a post-concert reception in the lobby.  Tickets for adults and seniors are $25. Admission for youth under 18 is free. For tickets and information, call 978-369-4967 or visit www.concordorchestra.com.