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Barton College/Wilson Symphony presents four concerts annually: Barton College/Wilson Symphony Downtown concert, the fall concert, Valentines night concert and the spring concert. The orchestra also plays at the Barton graduation.
Mark Peterson, director of the symphony, said that each year in October, the symphony performs downtown and the event is free to the public. Peterson said that the symphony likes to phrase the concert as “Our gift to the Wilson community.” With the coming of each year, the location of the event may vary, but typically takes place in the Boykin Center.
This year’s fall concert will be held on Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. in the Kennedy Family Theatre. The concert is free to students from any school, but will cost $10 for general admission. The concert will feature Dr. Boaz Sharon, chair of the piano faculty at Boston University, as he plays a couple of Mozart pieces on the piano.
Peterson looks forward to having a fellow musician and friend perform alongside the Barton College/Wilson Symphony.
“We have a wonderful guest soloist—a gentleman that I have known for years, a distinguished Israeli-American pianist, Mr. Boaz Sharon, who is the chair of the piano faculty at Boston University,” Peterson said. “And we are very fortunate to have him come here, and I am excited, thrilled, pleased, and really looking forward to this concert because I know he’s going to be absolutely, flawlessly wonderful.”
The Valentines night concert is held in the Barton gym on Feb. 14 and admission is $60. The concert is called “Love the Symphony.” This event includes both a concert and a dinner. He said that the money collected from this concert is used to financially support the rest of the season, and is used to pay the guest soloists that are invited to perform alongside the orchestra throughout the year.
In the spring, Peterson said that the orchestra typically performs sometime from the end of April to the beginning of May in the Kennedy Family Theatre. Like the fall concert, it is free for students at any school.
Peterson said that the number of members in the orchestra fluctuate depending upon what the musical piece requires. He said that the largest number required is around 55 members and the smallest number is around 30 members.
He said that the symphony is an organization that has a separate endowment that is managed by the college, with 85 percent of the organization being located on campus.
Senior Giovany Martinez is a clarinet player in the orchestra and said that being apart of the orchestra has been a blessing to him.
“Orchestra has been an incredible blessing for me over my past three years at Barton. It’s given me a chance to unwind from my business and accounting class for a couple hours a week,” said Martinez. “Orchestra has given me an opportunity to interact with the Wilson community and also to meet many and listen to talented musicians from around the world.”
For more information about the Barton College/Wilson Symphony and the concerts, contact Mark Peterson at mpeterson@barton.edu
By Taylor Baker
Managing Editor
