The Elkhart County Symphony unites with Goshen High School musicians for a side-by-side performance at Passion and Poetry, where several works will we performed. Photo by Elkhart County Symphony Association.

News Release

ELKHART — The Elkhart County Symphony unites with Goshen High School musicians for a side-by-side performance at Passion and Poetry, 4 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at The Lerner Theatre in downtown Elkhart.

The fourth concert of the Elkhart County Symphony’s 2024-25 season, Passion and Poetry presents The Symphony performing the Poet and Peasant Overture, by Franz von Suppé and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 “Romantic.” Passion and Poetry also features a hometown collaboration as the Goshen High School Symphony Orchestra joins the Elkhart County Symphony on-stage to perform the lively and playful La Conga del Fuego Nuevo by Arturo Márquez.

“March is National Music in Our Schools Month and our March 30 concert ties in with that celebratory theme,” said John Hill, co-executive director of the Elkhart County Symphony Association. “Passion and Poetry very much aligns with one of our staple missions at the Elkhart County Symphony, which is to support and advocate for music education in our schools through involvement and participation.”

He continued, “We’re honored to welcome the young musicians from Goshen High School. This is going to be a magnificent and memorable event and we encourage the entire Elkhart County community to join us. We are so thankful for the support.”

Tickets for Passion and Poetry are available by visiting The Lerner Theatre Box Office at 410 S. Main St., Elkhart, or by calling the Box Office at (574) 293-4469. Tickets may also be purchased from The Lerner Theatre website.

Musical Excellence On Display

National Music in Our Schools Month has been presented by the National Association for Music Education for more than 40 years, and the Goshen Orchestra Program — which celebrated its centennial during the 2015-16 school year — began in 1915 with 13 students. By 2020, the Goshen Orchestra Program featured nearly 500 young musicians.

Cellists play with their high school orchestra. Photo from Elkhart County Symphony Association.

Approximately 15% of the current Goshen Community Schools student population — from fifth graders to seniors in high school — are enrolled in an orchestra. The Goshen Orchestras have received numerous high honors over the years, including more than 20 first-place middle school orchestra awards at the Music in the Parks festival and the Goshen High School Symphony Orchestra is a 16-time Indiana State School Music Association State Finalist.

At Passion and Poetry, the musicians of the Goshen High School Symphony Orchestra join the Elkhart County Syphony side-by-side — following the wand of Conn-Selmer Endowed Musical Director, Dr. Soo Han — for a performance of La Conga del Fuego Nuevo by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez.

“La Conga del Fuego Nuevo is a jubilant, uptempo and bright piece driven by signature percussive elements and Afro-Cuban conga patterns,” said Dr. Soo Han.

“It’s a sharp contrast to Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, which is a winding contemporary classical piece we’ve performed during previous seasons,” he added. We look forward to collaborating with our young friends from the Goshen High School Symphony Orchestra. La Conga del Fuego Nuevo is an intense, exciting and crowd-pleasing piece known for its show-stopping moments.”

Von Suppé’s Lasting Legacy

The Poet and the Peasant — Dichter und Bauer in original German — is one of Franz von Suppé’s earlier operettas, written by the Croatian-born composer in 1846 when he was 27. Its overture has also been featured in productions and animated cartoons over the years, including Popeye the Sailor and it often strikes a familiar and warm chord with modern audiences.

Elkhart County Symphony Principal Cellist Rebecca Yoder, a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University and Director of the Elkhart High School Philharmonic Orchestra, performs the cello solo at the beginning of Poet and Peasant Overture while accompanied by a solo harp.

Hanson’s “Romantic” Symphony

An American educator and composer, Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 in D-flat major, Op. 30 — aka Romantic — was written in 1930 on commission from Serge Koussevitzky in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the Boston Symphony Orchestra on Friday, Nov. 28, 1930.

Flutists play with their high school orchestra. Photo from Elkhart County Symphony Association.

Arturo Toscanini next played it with the New York Philharmonic and Hanson then conducted and recorded his work with the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra. Additional conductors of this memorable symphony — Hanson’s best-known work and widely known for its use in the final scene and end credits of the 1979 Ridley Scott film, Alien — include Charles Gerhardt, Sir Neville Marriner, Erich Kunzel, Gerard Schwarz, David Montgomery and Leonard Slatkin.

For more information about Passion and Poetry, visit the Elkhart County Symphony website.

Tickets Are Still Available For The Elkhart County Symphony’s Sunday, May 18 Season Finale

In the spirit of last season’s floor-shaking season finale with local Spanish Rock kings Lalo Cura, the Elkhart County Symphony ends its yearly campaign with another locally-based, musical performance at The Lerner Theatre.

Local eclectic rock group rebel noire and the accomplices is the special guest at rebelSYMPHnoire — The Symphony’s season-ending concert on Sunday, May 18. An eclectic blend of jazz, R&B, soul, spoken word and a hint of hip hop, rebel noire and the accomplices has a distinct and evocative sound and creates original songs exploring themes of power, resistance and the complex textures of human love. Tickets are still available for this season-ending event.

Rebel Noir, frontwoman of Rebel Noir and the Accomplices. Photo from Elkhart County Symphony Association.