Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra to 
perform Dec. 12 in Fowler Center

Dec. 3, 2004--The Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra will perform in concert on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. in Riceland Hall of the Fowler Center.

The Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, founded by conductor Piotr Sulkowski, was organized to perform the “Young Composers’ Forum,” a festival held originally in 1993. “Forum Sinfonia” acts under the auspices of the Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland, and cooperates with other musical institutions such as the P.W.N. Edition and the publishing house “VIVO.”

The orchestra has been invited to take part in such Polish and international festivals as Organ Music Days, Canadian Music Festival, and Silesian Day of Contemporary Music. In 1994, they received the Best Performance Award from the Chapter of Critics at the Young Composers’ Forum and were asked by the P.W.N. Edition Composers’ Competition to perform a work by Rajumund Pietrzak.

Their prize-winning performance was broadcast by Polish radio. Their CD’s contain music from Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Serenada by Czajkowski, and the German musical Deorecording.  Their repertory ranges from Baroque to contemporary compositions such as those by Widlak, Chyrzynski, Minqjiqi, Lukaszewski, Zielinski, and Dziadek and includes many performances.

Dynamic conductor Steven Byess has been hailed by critics as “masterful and brilliant,” “creating the epitome of instrumental elegance,” and “a talented interpreter, able to capture the sweep of a piece without neglecting detail.” He is the cover conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the principal cover conductor of the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, and the associate music director of the Ohio Light Opera where he has conducted to critical acclaim more than 300 performances of 40 diverse operas, operettas, and musical theater works.

The performance will include “Christmas Concerto Grosso” by Corelli; “Messiah Pastoral Symphony” by Haendel; “Aria” by E.F. “Dall’Abaco; “koncert na 2 Vn d-moll” by Bach; “The Winter’s Passed” by W. Barlow with Dr. Dan Ross as oboe soloist; “Eine Klaine Nachtmusic” by Mozart, and Polish chorals.

Members of the Sinfonia are violin:  Padala Urszula, Mackiewicz Marta, Wojtas Joanna, and Crygiel Maciej; viola:  Wozniak Michal; cello:  Wistak Michal; double bass: Chajdecki Bartosz, with special guest artist, Dr. Daniel Ross on oboe.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call the ASU Music Department at 870-972-2094.