Symphony will spotlight principal hornist at Nov. 15 concert

Tickets are on sale for the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra’s Investar Bank Masterworks III concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Baton Rouge River Center Theatre for the Performing Arts, 275 St. Louis St.

The concert will feature the orchestra’s principal horn Angela Bagnetto Finley as its soloist and is directed by conductor and musical director Timothy Muffitt.

The orchestra will open the concert with classical music’s greatest master of melody, Franz Schubert’s “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major.” Its heart-wrenching harmonies and jolly themes reveal his youthful enthusiasm and consummate skill, with a hint of emotional intensity.

Next, Finley will be highlighted in the “Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major” by Richard Strauss. The piece is the first horn concerto by a major composer since Mozart, and includes passages that would have been impossible without the invention of the modern valve horn.

The evening will end with “Selections from the Ballet Suites of Romeo and Juliet” by Sergey Prokofiev.

Now in her sixth season as principal horn, Finley says she is “honored to be a guest soloist, performing among my friends in this city which has become my second home.” She dedicates her performance to her mentor, Peter Perfetti, in celebration of his enormous impact upon her life and the lives of all his students over the past 33 years.

Finley attended Northwestern University in Chicago, studying with internationally recognized hornist and brass pedagogue, Gail Williams. She spent several summers of her college years attending the Chautauqua Music Festival, where she studied primarily with principal horn of St. Louis Symphony, Roger Kaza and principal horn of the Seattle Symphony, Mark Robbins. She earned her master’s degree in music in 2005 from Rice University in Houston, where she joined the horn studio of William VerMeulen.

Finley is an active performer, having made guest appearances with many professional symphony orchestras including Opera Vista Modern Opera, Victoria Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, Symphony of Southeast Texas, Mississippi Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. While living in Houston, she studied with internationally known horn soloist and recording artist Tom Bacon.

She is also a member of the consortium of horn players who commissioned Anthony Plog’s “Horn Quartet No. 1.”

Meanwhile, ticket holders are invited to the concert hall an hour prior for a pre-concert discussion with Muffitt. This feature allows patrons to gain insight into composers’ lives, historical background of pieces, and other pieces of musical knowledge.

Tickets are $25-$55.

For tickets or more information, call (225) 383-0500, ext. 100, or visit http://www.brso.org.

Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra