Spats N’ Chaps

Join the Reston Community Orchestra for Spats N’ Chaps on Sunday, March 15^th at 4:00 PM at the Reston Community Center Hunters Woods.  You will hear two pairs of wildly contrasting symphonic dances, plus a Beethoven masterpiece interpreted by a talented young violinist – all under the baton of our exciting conductor, Dingwall Fleary!

Tchaikovsky’s 1878 opera Eugene Onegin actually centers on a love-struck young woman of Russia’s rural landed gentry, Tatyana. Two popular concert numbers from the opera are a gay Waltz, danced by partygoers celebrating Tatyana’s 17^th birthday, and a glittering ballroom Polonaise, marking her entry into Moscow’s high society five years later. These sophisticated Russian scenarios contrast with the cowboys-and-rancheros world of Aaron Copland’s “western” ballet, Rodeo. Buckaroos and cowgirls pair up to slow-dance in a hesitant and tender Saturday Night Waltz, followed by a raucous Hoe-Down featuring a lightning-fast fiddle tune and a barn-burning Texas reel.

We’ll also shine a “spotlight on youth.” Teenager George Pekarsky, a student at Westfield High School, will perform Beethoven’s flashy and tuneful Violin Concerto with the orchestra, a challenge for even the most celebrated virtuoso players, as we mark 2020 as the composer’s 250^th anniversary year. We’re also planning something fun for children. No one is too young or too old to enjoy the Reston Community Orchestra!

A Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When

Saturday, January 18th at 4:00 PM.

Where

Reston Community Center, Hunters Woods: 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston, VA

What

The orchestra celebrates the life and work of Dr. Marin Luther King,. Jr. through symphonic works, spirituals, and songs inspired by his legacy.

The program will consist of a marvelous selection of Negro Spirituals performed by soprano Jasmine Marshall Lizama and baritone Bryan Jackson, accompanied at piano by Maestro Fleary, and a moving performance by Reston’s resident song-stylist, Beverly Cosham. Also on the program is Dr. King’s moving “I Have a Dream” speech performed by students from Reston’s Al Faith Academy.