FSUCO Concert Features Bassoonist
The Fairmont State University Community Orchestra will present a free concert in the
Turley Center Ballroom at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5.
The orchestra, conducted by John Ashton, will open the program with the rarely performed
"Sinfonietta" opus 1 of Benjamin Britten. The work has been described as "dark but
triumphant" and is in three movements. The orchestra will also play Ludwig van Beethoven's
Symphony No. 6, the "Pastoral" symphony. The work was composed in 1808, and Beethoven
himself wrote "ASTORAL Symphony, in which is expressed not [tone] painting, but feelings
that are awakened by one's enjoyment of the country; in [this work] some impressions
of country life are portrayed." He eventually gave each of the five movements a title
reflecting some aspect of country life.
The afternoon's soloist will be bassoonist Dr. Constance Edwards, who will play the
Bassoon Concerto, KV 191 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Edwards, an Assistant Professor
of Music at FSU, has extensive experience as a performer and teacher. She comes to
FSU from Arizona, where she completed her D.M.A. in bassoon performance with a minor
in Musicology at the University of Arizona. She is a founding member of the Con Spirito
woodwind quintet at FSU.
Following the concert, a reception will be offered by the Friends of the Symphony
to allow the audience to meet the soloist.
