Two sides of the Pond, America’s 250th
The thirty-member Providence Chamber Orchestra presents the first concert of its 2025-2026 season at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 23rd, at St. John’s. Come, enjoy an hour of delightful orchestral music right here in Phoenixvillle!
The concert opens with the Overture to “La Dame Blanche,” by François-Adrien Boieldieu, known as “The French Mozart.” The opera, composed in 1825 has typical elements of the Romantic in its Gothic mode, including an exotic Scottish locale, a lost heir, a mysterious castle, a hidden fortune, and a ghost (La Dame Blanche), in this case benevolent. The concert continues with Georges Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 composed in 1872 as incidental music for Alphonse Daudet’s drama of the same name, usually translated as The Girl from Arle. The first half of the program concludes with a delightful harp solo by Janet Witman. Following a brief intermission the program ends with Symphony No. 1, Op. 21, by Ludwig van Beethoven. The symphony is clearly indebted to Beethoven’s predecessors, particularly his teacher Joseph Haydn as well as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but nonetheless has characteristics that mark it uniquely as Beethoven’s work, notably the frequent use of sforzandi, as well as sudden shifts in tonal centers that were uncommon for traditional symphonic form (particularly in the third movement), and the prominent, more independent use of wind instruments. Sketches for the finale are found among the exercises Beethoven wrote while studying counterpoint under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger in the spring of 1797.
The ensemble was founded in 1999 to meet the musical needs and aspirations of its members, a group of talented, amateur musicians from the greater Philadelphia area, all of whom share a common passion for playing music. The group of volunteers rehearses twice monthly and presents an annual winter and spring concert in addition to accompanying the “St. John’s Choir & Friends” performance of major choral repertoire. Tom Snyder, Director of Music at St. John’s, conducts the orchestra.
There is no admission charge but a freewill offering will be received to support ongoing orchestral performances in Phoenixville.