Classical guitarist performs Spanish concerto with BSO March 21

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Serbian artist Petar Jankovic, a member of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty, performs more than 30 recitals and solos a year.
To pair a classical guitar onstage with a symphony orchestra is a daring and relatively modern form of instrumentation. It would be easy for the delicate sound of a lone guitar to be overwhelmed by the might of a modern-day orchestra.

But in the hands of masters, the pairing results in an intimate and expressive sound, which the audience can expect at the next performance of the Bryan Symphony Orchestra at Tennessee Tech University, set for 3 p.m., Sunday, March 21, in Wattenbarger Auditorium.

While reservations are limited, there will be tickets available at the box office several hours before the performance begins, thanks to season subscribers who release their seats to the reservation line over the weekend. Call the box office at 931-525-2633 to check on ticket availability now or to be added to the standby list. Tickets are $28 for adults, $24 for seniors 65 and up, and $8 for students. The ticket window opens at noon on Sunday, March 21.

The March 21 performance features the second of three international soloists performing with the BSO this season. Guest soloist Petar Jankovic will play Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” a concerto that defines the classical Spanish guitar sound.

“The guitar can be a challenge to play with an orchestra, where we’ve spent the past 300 years amping up our instruments,” says BSO Music Director Dan Allcott. “Plucked instruments have a different articulation. It’s about rhythm – even with melody – and it’s not unusual.

“While Rodrigo is of the modern age, he’s definitely a Romantic composer. He’s celebrating one thing, the great tradition of the Spanish and classical guitar, and what he was writing hadn’t been done. This is giving our audience an opportunity to place the guitar, which is considered more of a folk instrument, in context with classical music."

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Bryan Symphony Orchestra principal percussionist Eric Willie, a member of the TTU music faculty, directs the university’s classical and contemporary-pop percussion ensembles and arranges for the TTU Golden Eagle Drum Line.
The March 21 program also includes Ottorino Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances,” Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedies,” and Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams.” The Tennessee Tech University Orchestra, a student orchestra also led by Allcott, commissioned work from Freund last year and premiered the composition, “DiverTennmento,” in a concert last fall.

Audience members are invited to several events on the day of the concert:

• A preview lecture by TTU music faculty member Catherine Godes at 2 p.m., in Room 223 of the Bryan Fine Arts Building.

• A reception following the concert in the BFAB lobby.

• And a post-concert dinner at Mauricio’s Italian Restaurant, located at 232 N. Peachtree Ave., Cookeville. Call 931-525-2633 for reservations by Friday, March 19.

The Bryan Symphony Orchestra, a member of the League of American Orchestras, is the only professional symphony in a rural area of Tennessee. Wattenbarger Auditorium is the concert hall of the Bryan Fine Arts Building on the TTU campus. Learn more about the BSO’s programs by visiting its web site.

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