Scheherazade

A Night of Stories with the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra

Monday, March 14, 2016 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm
  • Library Hall

Steamboat Symphony Orchestra and Bud Werner Memorial Library share a night of stories to prepare audiences for the orchestra's March 19 & 20 performances of Scheherazade, conducted by Ernest Richardson at the Strings Music Pavilion.

Before you hear concertmaster Teresa Steffen Greenlee and soloist Desiree Saurez Ward weave the stories of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazde (based on 1,001 Arabian Nights) and Ravel's Tzigane, listen to Conductor Ernest Richardson reveal more about the stories of fantasy, travel and the American West that inspired the musical compositions. He will be joined by some of Steamboat's finest storytellers for some very special readings.

From the depths of Fingal's Cave to the tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights, and returning home to the rugged mountains of our local cowboys, storytelling and music unite.

About Ernest Richardson, SSO's conductor and your storytelling host for the evening:
Ernest Richardson is music director and principal conductor of the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra. Under his leadership this organization has grown from a community orchestra to a resident professional orchestra. Richardson is in high demand across the country as conductor, composer, arranger, violist, organizational leader and inspirational speaker. His compositions and arrangements for orchestra have been performed recently by the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and by the Phoenix Chamber Players, Phoenix Symphony, Steamboat Symphony and elsewhere throughout the United States. Commissions for voice and chamber ensemble have been performed by Opera Omaha, the Omaha Symphony and have been featured on the Omaha Chamber Music Society concert series. In 1993/94, Richardson joined the Omaha Symphony where he has laid the groundwork for and led in the development of the Symphony’s vaunted education and community engagement programs. In 2015, Richardson conducted the Houston Symphony on a performance with singer/songwriter Michael Cavanaugh. He has conducted with the Florida Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Opera Omaha, Fort Collins Symphony, Battle Creek (Mich.) Symphony, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony and the Cheyenne Symphony.