Lindsay Guinand Plays in the Augustana College Orchestra's First Concert of the Season

2011 Oct 13

The Augustana Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Culver, will open its season with the inventive Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 104, called the "London Symphony." The concert will take place on Saturday, October 15, at 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave). The Rachmaninoff concerto will feature Dr. Mary Neil, professor of music at Augustana, on piano.

The Augustana Symphony Orchestra is a full-size orchestra of approximately 75 members including:

Lindsay Guinand, a Senior from Naperville, Ill., majoring in Music Education Instrumental.

Student-musician Tim Christiansen, a senior from Park Ridge, Ill., enjoys the orchestral part. "Rachmaninoff was infatuated with and mesmerized by orchestral textures-varying interactions between the orchestra and soloist. Sometimes they agree, disagree and dance with one another," said Christiansen.

Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto is one of his enduringly popular works and helped him gain fame as a concerto composer. This work was well received from its first performance and served as a sign that Rachmaninoff was no longer suffering from depression that had lasted several years.

Joseph Haydn composed 104 symphonies, the "London Symphony" being his last, and became known as the "Father of the Symphony" for his contribution to the development of this particular musical form.

Dr. Culver finds this Haydn symphony progressive for its time. "It is a transparent symphony-it requires great concentration and the full orchestra to be attentive to details," Culver said.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.