"Fanfare and Triumph" Honors First Responders
The Season Finale of the Idaho Falls Symphony is coming soon, and the event promises to be especially powerful this season. The “Fanfare and Triumph” concert is scheduled for Saturday, April 30th, at 7:30pm in the Idaho Falls Civic Center for the Performing Arts.
Thanks to a joint partnership with Bank of Idaho and Idaho Falls Community Hospital, the Symphony will use the event as an opportunity to honor and highlight the contributions of First Responders in Idaho Falls, including our police, fire, and medical communities.
“Our community has been deeply fortunate to have devoted front-line individuals giving their all, as well as incredibly talented musicians who continued to share their art through pandemic conditions until we could enjoy the live stage this year,” said Bank of Idaho’s CEO and President, Jeff Newgard. “Our hearts are inspired by their dedication.”
“These professionals have devoted themselves to their work more than ever in recent years,” says IFS Board Member Brian Ziel of the Idaho Falls Community Hospital. “We wanted to give back and say thank you, so large numbers of First Responders have been given vouchers to attend for free, and they will be recognized for their service.”
“The power of music to bring us together has never been stronger,” says IFS Music Director and Conductor Thomas Heuser. “With our orchestra back to full size, and with such a rich program of celebratory music, we are all going to share an incredibly meaningful experience together.”
In addition to these community partnerships, the music will be truly sensational. The program opens with the Idaho Premiere of “Fanfare for Democracy” by American composer James Stephenson. This flashy fanfare serves as a celebration of America and our democratic process. The work will be premiered in all 50 states in the 2021-22 season, and the Idaho Falls Symphony is honored to be the debut orchestra from the state of Idaho!
Adding to the list of historic firsts, the concert also features the 2020 Young Artist Competition Junior Division Winner, pianist James Tyler McKay, who is making his Idaho Falls Symphony debut. Only a junior in high school, Tyler has already won several competitions, including the Idaho Falls Music Club Scholarship Competition (2021), the Donald Runnicles Scholarship Competition (2021), and the Steinway Piano Competition (2019). Tyler currently studies piano with our Symphony’s Principal Pianist, Dr. Stephen Thomas
Tyler has patiently waited for this opportunity since winning the competition in 2020; the Symphony had to postpone the performance until a full orchestra could once again gather onstage. At long last, we will have the unbelievable thrill of hearing the First Piano Concerto by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev! Written when he was only 20 years old in 1911, the fiercely virtuosic Piano Concerto was designed to be a showcase for the composer, as he himself was the work’s first piano soloist, and indeed he makes incredible demands on the pianist that are breathtaking to behold. Tyler brings incredible energy to the music, you won’t want to miss his historic Symphony debut!
As a triumphant conclusion to the season, the Symphony will perform Tchaikovsky’s monumental Fourth Symphony. Written in 1877 when the master composer was experiencing many personal hardships, the work begins with the foreboding sounds of Fate, which prevent Tchaikovsky from happiness and fulfillment. The first two movements are angsty and sorrowful, but the second half is sheer delight, as though the composer finally escapes Fate and the music radiates his inner joy. The triumph of his personal fulfillment is manifest in the ebullient Finale.
In-person tickets are available now for Fanfare and Triumph. The concert will also be broadcast live online for our Virtual Audiences. Many thanks again to our dedicated Concert Sponsors: Bank of Idaho, Idaho Falls Community Hospital, Mary Lynn Hartwell, and Baton Sponsor Lorena Murdock. We’ll see you at the Symphony!
2020 Young Artist Competition Winner James Tyler McKay will debut with the First Piano Concerto of Sergei Prokofiev
