Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra Fall Concerts

The Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, under the direction of guest conductor Dr. Donald Running, will present its fall concerts on Saturday, October 26, at 3 PM, and Sunday, October 27, at 3 PM, at Morse Pond School Auditorium, 323 Jones Road, in Falmouth.

The program includes Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Brahms; Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams featuring flutist Donald Zook, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Prague.

Dr. Donald Running is a music professor and Director of Bands at Bridgewater State University and has played bass trombone for the Brockton Symphony Orchestra for 16 years. Originally from Minnesota, Dr. Running has written and premiered music with the Bridgewater State University Wind Ensemble, the University of Minnesota Campus Orchestra, and other schools.

Donald Zook is faculty chair of the woodwind department and director of chamber music at South Shore Conservatory in Hingham and Duxbury and teaches at Bridgewater State and privately.

Zook performs as a soloist and in chamber ensembles throughout New England, the Midwest and New York, and has received acclaim for his technique, passion, and virtuosity. He directs one of the largest flute symphonies in the United States and has commissioned many works for it.

“I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to conduct the Falmouth Chamber Players,” Dr. Running said. “The orchestra has a deeply felt sense of community and caring while creating dynamic performances of truly great music.

“The Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn is steeped in a rich Romantic tradition of lush chords, brilliant orchestration, and a definitive Brahmsian sense of humor leading to dramatic conclusion,” said Dr. Running.

Johannes Brahms wrote Variations on a Theme by Haydn during a summer retreat in Bavaria in 1873. The work is based on an unpublished manuscript for wind octet (pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns) containing an interested slow movement, “Chorale St. Antoni.” Though the work is no longer considered to be the work of Haydn, Brahms’s interpretation of it, which includes the theme, eight variations, and a finale, is considered one of his finest works.

“Having the opportunity to work with a colleague and true artist in Donald Zook is a joy,” Dr. Running continued. “Lark Ascending is a subtle and colorful piece that contrasts nicely with the Brahms and Mozart.”

Donald Zook added, “Lark Ascending is a beautiful work written by Vaughan Williams in 1914, inspired by a poem by George Meredith. The rich colors and dialogue between the orchestra and the flute is uplifting. It brings you right back to the English countryside that both Vaughan Williams and Meredith grew up in.”

Ralph Vaughn Williams included 12 lines from Meredith’s 1881 poem at the head of his score, beginning: “He rises and begins to round/ He drops the silver chain of sound/ Of many links without a break/ In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.”

A revolutionary piece for its time for its delicate musical freedom and flow, Lark Ascending remains highly regarded by classical music audiences.

Mozart wrote Symphony No. 38 in 1786 and premiered it in Prague in 1787. Its three movements are, by turns, dramatic, buoyant, sensuous, and energetic.

“Mozart’s Symphony No 38 (Prague) is full of fireworks and nimble technique,” said Dr. Running, “but I find most satisfying when it sounds operatic in nature. I feel that Mozart is at his best when writing for opera and you can hear snippets of music from Magic Flute, Don Giovani, and The Marriage of Figaro.

“Perhaps what I find most compelling about the concert is that each piece does what music should do best—tell a story,” Dr. Running continued. “Whether creating imagery of the flight of the lark or finding how each Brahms variation builds off of the previous, there is so much for an audience to hold on to.”

A donation at the door of $20 for adults and $5 for young professionals is suggested, with free admission for students. Tickets are available only at the door. For more information about the concert and the Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, visit  falmouthchamberplayers.org.

The FCPO is funded in part by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, the Falmouth Cultural Council, the Mass Cultural Council, the Falmouth Fund of the Cape Cod Foundation, Cape Cod Melody Tent, and the Woods Hole Foundation.