Lakes Area Music Festival - Beethoven’s Ninth

The season begins with our most epic and joyful journey yet, in a single performance of Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony. Christian Reif conducts the Orchestra in collaboration with a chorus of singers from the Legacy Chorale of Greater Minnesota, Brainerd High School, and the acclaimed Minneapolis-based choral ensemble, VocalEssence singing the powerful “Ode to Joy”.

Program:

Christian Reif, conductor
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
Legacy Chorale of Greater Minnesota
Brainerd High School A Cappella Choir

JIMMY LÓPEZ BELLIDO: Rise!
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9

JIMMY LÓPEZ BELLIDO: Rise. (11 minutes)

In 2022 LAMF performed the world premiere of a piece by López titled “Tribute to the Earth”. He returns to the Lakes Area this season not just for the performance of his work “Rise”, but also to be the mentor composer for LAMF's composer fellowship program.

López wrote this piece for the Berkeley Symphony's 50th anniversary where it also accompanied Beethoven's 9th symphony, utilizing the same size orchestra and instruments that Beethoven used.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9. (70 minutes)

Beethoven's 9th (and final) Symphony is one of the most celebrated and frequently performed symphonies ever. In the final section of the piece, vocal soloists and chorus join the orchestra for the famous “Ode to Joy”, promoting joy, brotherhood, and peace. It has been performed at numerous monumental occasions, including the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Our performance will be a celebration of community, with Brainerd High School students and members of the Legacy Chorale joining VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and our orchestra– over 150 musicians in total.

This symphony was so popular that when CDs were invented, the standard length of 74 minutes was determined in order to accommodate this symphony in full.

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