Rice orchestra to perform final concert of academic year

The works of Britten and Sibelius and a Houston premiere of Shostakovich’s fourth symphony will be showcased during the final Shepherd School of Music Symphony Orchestra concert of the academic year April 18.

The orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. inside Alice Pratt Brown Hall’s Stude Concert Hall. Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestral Conducting, will direct the performance.

The program will include Britten’s “Passacaglia” from “Peter Grimes,” conducted by Joshua Hong, a graduate student in orchestral conducting; Sibelius’ “‘Romanze in C,’ Op. 42”; and the Houston premiere of Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 43.” A preconcert lecture will take place at 6:45 p.m. in Room 1133.

“I’ve been wanting to do the Shostakovich fourth symphony for quite some time and we’re honored to present this epic work as a Houston premiere,” Rachleff said. “It promises to be an extraordinary experience for all – it’s very much like reading a long Dostoevsky novel, with all the brilliance and spontaneity of a through composed work.”

The symphony orchestra concert is ticketed but free of charge. For tickets, contact the Shepherd School concert office at 713-348-8000.