Orchestra conjures a ‘magical’ season starting October 18

Summer’s end means a rebirth for the town’s arts organizations as they launch their new seasons. 

The Acton Orchestra kicks off its series of weekend concerts, collectively called “Symphony of Stories,” at 51 Walden Performing Arts Center on October 18 and 19.

Acton residents in the 70-member volunteer orchestra are Jane Bailey, clarinet; Jeremy Greene, cello; Robert Karr, violin; Sheryl LaFayette, violin; Marian Levinstein, cello; Bill Moran, bassoon; Siri Smedvig, concertmaster; Megan Striplin, cello; Marsha Turin, cello; Marsha Westerberg, flute; and Edward Wu, violin. 

The season “has a progressive thread woven throughout that invites our audiences to enjoy and contemplate all the things that make being alive so magical, and so very worth celebrating,” says Zeke Fetrow, the orchestra’s musical director. Each show, he says, is “tied to the storytelling that happens in the others.”

“Always in Motion,” with music by Michael Torke, Samuel Barber, and Margaret Bonds, will be presented October 18 and 19. Torke’s “Javelin” was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for its 50th anniversary and performed at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics as “a musical homage to the spirit and achievements of exceptional athletes,” Fetrow says. 

The October concert tells the story, he adds, “of the individual as someone always growing and developing, always learning, always changing.” 

Also on the program are Barber’s “Symphony No. 1,” which combines the four movements of a classical symphony into a single movement, and Bonds’ “Montgomery Variations,” composed in 1964 and dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. It conveys the early history of the Civil Rights Movement, says Fetrow, particularly the Montgomery bus boycott and its aftermath.

A concert titled “Folk Roots” will be performed December 5 and 6. Richard Svoboda, principal bassoonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will perform Nino Rota’s “Concerto for Bassoon.” The other orchestral pieces — Zoltan Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta,” Johannes Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5,” and Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” — are all inspired by the folk music of various regions. 

Showcasing young talent

The third concert, on January 31 and February 1, is “Far, Far Away,” featuring John Williams’ “Star Wars Suite.” Also on the program are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Overture to Don Giovanni” and Alexander Borodin’s “In the Steppes of Central Asia.” This event continues the orchestra’s annual tradition of celebrating emerging talent with performances by winners of its Young Artist Concerto Competition. 

“Vignettes,” the spring concert on March 28 and 29, is a “tapas-platter version of disparate music that’s eclectic but unified through short musical forms,” Fetrow says. William Kasel, the orchestra’s principal trumpet, will perform Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Trumpet Concerto in D Major.” 

The March program includes Gustav Holst’s “Somerset Rhapsody,” Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Suite for Variety Orchestra,” a compilation of music the composer wrote for ballet, theater, and film, and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” with music representing the paintings displayed in an exhibit. 

Closing the season will be “The Heavenly Life” on May 16 and 17. It will present a single work, Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 4,” with Margaret Tigue, who is in residence with the Boston University Opera Institute as the soprano soloist. The piece is “a poignant reflection on life and whatever comes next,” Fetrow says. 

Tickets are $25 for adults; youth attendance is free. Tickets are sold online four to six weeks before a concert and are also available at the door. Subscriptions cost $100. Visit concordorchestra.com for more information. 

Youth competition auditions to be held in early November

Young musicians, it’s time to tune up.

Music students of high school age or younger can apply to audition for the Acton Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Applications are due October 23 for the November 6-7 auditions, which are open to instrumental students, including pianists.

Auditions will be held at Moloney Performing Arts Center (formerly Durgin Hall), 35 Wilder Street, Lowell, on the UMass Lowell campus. 

The competition’s winner will be the featured soloist at the Acton Orchestra’s concerts on January 31 and February 1, 2026, and will receive the Ehlers Memorial Scholarship cash award. The second- and third-place finishers may be invited to perform a recital prior to these concerts.  

For complete requirements regarding eligible repertoire, maximum concerto length, specific memorization requirements for each instrument, and to apply online, visit concordorchestra.com.

— Rob Reinalda