REDLANDS>> On May 21, the Redlands Community Orchestra finishes its 2016-2017 season with a concert at 3:00 p.m. at Redlands High School’s Clock Auditorium. The orchestra will present a new piece called, "Submergence", by Cal State San Bernardino student Melody Del Real. The performance will also include Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B Minor “Unfinished” and Rossini’s overture to The Barber of Seville. The concert will be conducted by James Benanti and is free of charge and family friendly. No tickets are necessary. Approximately 60 all-volunteer musicians of all ages will play string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments in the concert.
Melody Del Real’s Submergence will be performed as part of the RCO Composition Project, an initiative to foster the creation of new orchestral music. In the piece, the instruments battle against each other frenetically, pulling each other down while clambering for escape and survival. Light solo melodies symbolize heroism and hope amidst the commotion while a bell chimes in the distance, reminding us that there is a world outside the battle. Harmonies gradually become isolated, then heavier, invoking a feeling of being overwhelmed and submerged.
Melody Del Real is a student composer and pianist at Cal State San Bernardino, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Music and currently taking her studies in music composition under Dr. Allen Menton. She has been writing music since she began playing the piano. She considers her style to be Neo-Romantic, as she takes a fancy to fusing strong melodic elements of commercial music with the formative qualities of classical music. Among her works to have been premiered at CSUSB include Winter Nocturne for solo piano, Submergence for chamber orchestra, Do Not Go for SATB choir, and The Lull in a Dark Sea, also for chamber orchestra.
The Redlands Community Orchestra was founded in September 2013 as an outlet for amateur musicians in the Redlands area to play orchestral music together for fun. It is an independent nonprofit community organization devoted to sharing the joy of music making, engaging our audience, and enriching the cultural life of our community through artistic expression.
The concert is sponsored by the Redlands High School Instrumental Music Department.
For more information about the Redlands Community Orchestra is available online at www.redlandscommunityorchestra.org.