ECSO’s 75th anniversary season continues with Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 75, completed in 1781. The composer of an astounding 107 symphonies, “Papa” Haydn is considered the father of the four-movement form, expanded by his sometime pupil Ludwig van Beethoven, whose nine symphonies are the heart of the repertoire. Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo’s 1939 work for classical guitar and orchestra, Concierto de Aranjuez, was inspired by the centuries-old gardens at a royal palace south of Madrid.

The ECSO is pleased to announce the appointment of Cara Cheung to the full-time position of Executive Coordinator. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role is a crucial part of the ECSO team through patron relations, marketing and design, office management, and event coordination.

The upcoming third concert of the ECSO’s 75th anniversary season features the world premiere of Scattering by composer, media artist, and performer Joseph Butch Rovan, inaugural faculty director of the Brown Arts Initiative at Brown University, where his focus is the innovative Music & Multimedia Composition program. Rovan was quoted on the piece’s unique equipment that he designed for the premiere: “…I built a custom instrument for the conductor’s left hand that tracks movement, direction, and acceleration. I call the instrument TOSHI (The Orchestra-Synthesis Human Interface), in honor of ECSO’s dynamic conductor, Toshi Shimada.

The orchestra’s first concert of 2022 begins with the U.S. premiere of Imitation of Life by award-winning composer Ekaterina Buzovkina, a recent graduate of the State Musical Institute in Moscow. Carrying on the Russian theme is the evening’s soloist: Igor Pikayzen, grandson of legendary violinist Viktor Pikayzen. The Moscow-born graduate of the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music joins the orchestra to play Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, a work that calls for incredible technical facility.

The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is seeking a creative and energetic professional to serve as Executive Coordinator. This is a wonderful opportunity to support one of Connecticut’s premier professional symphony orchestras in its next phase of growth.

The official newsletter of the ECSO. This issue includes:
A Musical Conversation: Toshiyuki Shimada and Catherine Marrion
Website Overhaul & State Grants
Musicians of the Orchestra: Kuljit Rehncy
Board Member Highlight: Michael Pernal
A Message from Caleb

As I reflect on the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to take an opportunity to share my gratitude for many things at the ECSO.

We were so excited to celebrate the start of our 75th anniversary season with a party at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum on Sunday, November, 7, 2021.

Monday, November 8, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: CALEB BAILEY, 860-443-2876, [email protected] Click here for downloadable .pdf version Check out our full 75th Anniversary Season Brochure Heroic Celebrations – Saturday, November 20, 2021, 7:30pmGarde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London, CT 06320 Front-line workers join the ECSO as special guests to open the second concert […]