“On Nov. 1, 1969, in the Greensburg Salem High School auditorium, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra gave its first performance,” writes Mary Pickels in Thursday’s (9/27) Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Founded by a group of area musicians and community leaders, the orchestra got its start with amateur musicians. [Today] a WSO performance can bring 55 to 85 musicians to the stage, all professionals, notes Daniel Meyer, artistic director…. A [season-long anniversary] celebration kicks off on Oct. 13, with pianist Maxim Lando, 15, who famously performed as pianist Lang Lang’s ‘left hand’ following an injury…. The program will include Sibelius’ ‘Finlandia.’ … April 27 will bring ‘Carmina Burana’ … with … the WSO Chamber Singers, Westmoreland Choral Society, the University of Pittsburgh choir, Seton Hill University Choir, children’s choirs and Pittsburgh Opera soloists … ‘as many performers as we could from the community,’ Meyer says.” For new listeners, attending a concert is “all about the connections,” says Executive Director Endicott Reindl. “If you come to a concert, you might have heard a snippet of something in a cartoon, or as background to a movie.… More orchestral music is being written today than in the 1700s or 1800s—for video games, Broadway, movies.”
Posted October 1, 2018
