Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Mozart

College orchestra to give free concert MIDDLETOWN — The Orange County Community Colelge Orchestra will feature music from Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Jules Massenet and Wolfgang Mozart at its upcoming concert scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, in Orange Hall Theater. The musical program will celebrate Mozart’s birthday — Jan. 27, 1756 — and the romantic ideals of forbidden love between “unlikely suitors.” Under the direction of Dr. Hilarie Clark Moore, the orchestra will open its performance with Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture.” This “fantasy overture” combines the chemistry of Tchaikovsky’s melodic invention and instrumentation with the cry, color, and poetry of Shakespeare’s play. The orchestra will also perform the ballet suite from Massenet’s opera “Le Cid,” another story of a couple torn apart by family loyalties. The concert will close with Mozart’s popular Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550. This symphony is described as both a classical and romantic piece as it is a work of passion, violence, and grief combined with classic forms. Orange Hall Theater is located in Orange Hall on the college’s Middletown campus. Parking is available at the intersection of Wawayanda and Grandview avenues. Admission is free, but $5 donations will be accepted at the door. For more information, call the college’s Arts and Communication Department at 341-4787.