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Modern Meets Classic in Symphony’s 32nd Season

Glacier Symphony and Chorale takes on the music of of composer John Williams

By Molly Priddy

With more than three decades under its belt, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale knows how to engage an audience, to bring in new listeners who form appreciation for classic pieces of music.

The offerings in the latest season intend to connect with more people than ever before, with popular music complementing the classical.

The Glacier Symphony and Chorale began its 32nd concert season on Oct. 11, a considerable milestone that began with a group of friends playing music together at a wedding in 1981.

Now, the GSC is composed of more than 280 musicians, both volunteers and professionals, who play at least 30 concerts every year in Northwest Montana.

Each year, the music director dreams up a theme for the new season, and selects the musical pieces for the year based on that theme. Current director John Zoltek made a fun and interesting choice this year, executive director Alan Satterlee said, when he decided to form each show based around the works of blockbuster composer John Williams.

“Our desire was to attract the attention of a lot more people in the public,” Satterlee said in an interview last week. “John Williams is accessible.”

Even if Williams’ name doesn’t ring a bell for some, it won’t take long for the recognition to set in after the symphony starts playing his work. Largely considered one of the greatest film composers of all time, Williams’ work includes the music for “Jaws,” the “Star Wars” series, “Jurassic Park,” the “Harry Potter” movies, “Home Alone,” “Hook,” “Schindler’s List,” and many more films, especially those from Steven Spielberg.

Other work from Williams includes the NBC Sunday Night Football music, the theme for NBC Nightly News, and the music for four Olympic Games. He has won five Academy Awards, 21 Grammys and four Golden Globes.

With such a wide array of work in so many types of media, audiences will likely relate to and feel like they know the work in the GSC season, Satterlee said.

To bolster Williams’ work, Zoltek has selected classical pieces that complement one another, showing that certain musical themes and emotions are timeless.

For example, the Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 Masterworks concerts included the “Flight to Neverland” theme from “Hook,” along with “Violin Concerto in D minor,” by Nicolo Paganini and Hector Berlioz’ iconic “Symphonie Fantastique.”

“It’s a real bang-up season,” Satterlee said.

The next Masterworks concert will be on Nov. 15 and 16, featuring Italian pianist Roberto Plano in the “Rhapsody in Brahms” show. Following that, the third Masterworks concert of the season will be the aptly titled “Voices in Autumn” on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23, which will feature the considerable talent of the Glacier Chorale.

Then, starting in December, the GSC brings back some of its most popular concerts of the year, the “Messiah” series, wherein the musicians bring Handel’s powerful, popular piece to the Flathead.

Satterlee said that in previous years, the GSC performed three shows of the “Messiah” concert, but that wasn’t the case for the last few seasons. The three concerts will be back this year, he said.

Another fun aspect to the 32nd season is that many of the guest artists have already performed here at one point, giving them a connection to the valley and the audiences here, Satterlee said.

The November concerts, with Roberto Plano, will delight his fanbase here.

“He’s been here three times,” Satterlee said. “He actually has a following here.”

January will also likely prove to be popular with audiences, when the GSC brings the silent film, “The Mask of Zorro,” to life.

“The January concert is going to be a real hoot,” Satterlee said. “It’s a silent film and the orchestra is going to be the soundtrack.”

The Masterworks concerts continue each month until May. Satterlee said the Sunday performances have been particularly popular this year, and the organization is keeping pace with ticket sales.

“We’ve pretty much met our goals for season ticket sales,” he said.

For scheduling and ticketing information, visit www.gscmusic.org, or call 406-407-7000.

UPDATE: This story was corrected to change the “free” Messiah concerts to “three” concerts. We regret the error.