Oak Ridge Symphony, Sound Company to Perform Noah’s Ark Opera and Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll”

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Sound Company Children’s Choir of Oak Ridge join the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra to perform Benjamin Britten’s acclaimed “Noye’s Fludde,” based on the 15th-century Chester miracle play about the Old Testament story of Noah’s Ark 7:30 p.m. March 10 at Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center.

The orchestra, conducted by Music Director Dan Allcott, will also play “Siegfried Idyll,” German composer Richard Wagner’s tribute to his wife and newborn son.

“Noye’s Fludde” is a one-act opera intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. The opera received its American premiere in New York in March 1959. Since then it has been staged worldwide; the performance in Beijing in October 2012 was the first in China of any Britten opera. The occasion of Britten’s centenary in 2013 led to numerous productions at music festivals, both in the UK and abroad.

The Sound Company Children’s Choir comprises about 100 children ranging from grades 1 through 12. The multi-age choir performs in Oak Ridge, Knoxville and other sites in East Tennessee. Older children travel periodically to participate in competitions and concerts. Sound Company’s wide-ranging repertoire includes classical, pop, show, folk and multicultural music. Its members come from schools and communities all over East Tennessee. Sound Company was founded in 2003 as a nonprofit performing arts ensemble.

Best known for his operas, Wagner (1813-83) composed the “Siegfried Idyll” as a birthday present to his second wife Cosima after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. It was first performed on Christmas morning in 1870 by a small ensemble on the stairs of the Wagners’ villa in Switzerland. Cosima awoke to its opening melody. Wagner originally intended the “Siegfried Idyll” to remain a private piece; but financial pressures convinced him to sell the score after he expanded the orchestration to 35 players to make the piece more marketable.

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association is a proud participant in the Penny4Arts program. All students 18 and under may attend any Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra, Chorus or Chamber Music concert for free during the 2017-18 season. General admission is $25; a discounted young adult ticket (ages 19-29) sells for $10.

Tickets and more information are available at www.ORCMA.org or by calling 865-483-5569.

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