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First Posted: 1/2/2014 A selection of works that reflect the human fascination with water will be on the program when the Wyoming Seminary Civic Orchestra presents its annual winter concerts in January.
Civic Orchestra Music Director Dr. Rick Hoffenberg will lead the musicians in performances featuring compositions by Mendelssohn, Britten, Smetana and Bridge.
Two concerts will be presented, the first on Sunday, Jan.12, at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of Wyoming Seminary, 228 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston, just north of Kingston Corners, and the second on Monday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Sette LaVerghetta Auditorium at Marywood University in Scranton. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
The orchestra will begin the concerts with performances of the Hebrides Overture (&#8220;Fingal&#8217;s Cave&#8221;) by Felix Mendelssohn. The piece was inspired by the composer&#8217;s visit to Fingal&#8217;s Cave, a cavern on the Hebrides Archipelago off the coast of Scotland, and contains images of the beautiful scenery and tempestuous waters that Mendelssohn encountered on his trip. Equally popular is Bedrich Smetana&#8217;s tone poem &#8220;The Moldau,&#8221; one of six symphonic poems in which the composer brings the listener on a journey along the Moldau River.
The concerts also will include performances of the Four Sea Interludes from &#8220;Peter Grimes&#8221; by Benjamin Britten and &#8220;The Sea&#8221; by Frank Bridge. Bridge is best remembered as Britten&#8217;s composition teacher, but &#8220;The Sea&#8221; gives ample evidence of his own compositional mastery. The ten-year-old Britten heard a performance of the work and was so inspired that 27 years later he composed his own four-movement orchestral cycle of sea-themed pieces, using music from his opera &#8220;Peter Grimes.&#8221; The Civic Orcherstra will present both of these orchestral representations of the sea, written a generation apart by teacher and pupil.
Hoffenberg, associate professor, director of choral activities and coordinator of vocal and keyboard studies at Marywood University, holds a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, a master of music degree from Westminster Choir College, and a master of arts and doctorate in music from Yale University. Prior to joining Marywood University, he held positions at the University of Northern Iowa, where he directed three choirs and taught courses in conducting and repertoire, and Williams College, where he served as visiting director of choral and vocal activities. In 2005 he completed his doctoral residency at Yale University, where he served as principal assistant conductor of Yale Camerata and assistant conductor of Simon Carrington&#8217;s Schola Cantorum.
Hoffenberg has spent the past 15 summers at Chautauqua Opera, where he is a pianist, coach and assistant conductor on the music staff. He has also worked in various capacities for New York City Opera, BMG Classics/RCA Victor Red Seal, Columbia Artists Management, the Milken Archive and Spoleto Festival USA. As a pianist he has performed in Chicago, New York City and Princeton, N.J. He was the state winner, division winner and national finalist in the 1994 MTNA Wurlitzer Piano Competition.
The 65-member Civic Orchestra, founded by area conductor Jerome Campbell in 1999, includes professional musicians, music teachers, music majors from nearby colleges and universities, talented adult amateurs and high school performers from Sem and area schools; an array of ages, talent and training with a shared love of music. The Civic Orchestra is under the sponsorship of Wyoming Seminary and the Performing Arts Institute, an international program for young musicians.
This performance is part of the 2013-14 Wyoming Seminary fine and performing arts program. For more information call the Sem Communications Office at (570) 270-2192.

Wyoming Seminary Civic Orchestra to present winter concerts