Night of music to focus on 19th century

ORONO – The Bangor Symphony Orchestra, under the director of Music Director and Conductor Xiao-Lu Li, puts the spotlight on the 19th century for the BSO’s second classical concert of the season at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at the Maine Center for the Arts.

The afternoon will feature Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell (William Tell) Overture;” R. Strauss’ “Horn Concerto no. 1;” Chausson’s “Poeme;” and Tchaikovsky’s beloved “Swan Lake” suite.

Andrew Pelletier, a native of Lewiston who began his career with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, will be the featured guest soloist for the Horn Concerto.

Called “a soloist capable of anything on his instrument” by the Los Angeles Times, Pelletier is a Grammy Award-winning soloist and chamber musician regularly performing across the United States. He spent more than seven years as a freelance performer in Los Angeles and can be heard on film soundtracks such as “Lethal Weapon 4,” “The X-Men,” “Against the Ropes” and “Frequency,” as well as various television movies for Lifetime TV and the Sci-Fi Channel.

He has recorded for Cambria Master Classics, Criterion, Delos and MSR Classics.

Pelletier holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. Now residing in Ohio, he is assistant professor of horn at Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts.

Bangor Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Trond Saeverud is also a soloist for Chausson’s “Poeme.”

Violinist and conductor, Trond Saeverud, has been a frequent soloist with orchestras in Norway and Denmark, has produced CDs with orchestras in both countries, and regularly premieres and records new works dedicated to him. His concert tours in Japan, the United States and Europe have been combined with positions as concertmaster of several Scandinavian orchestras.

Saeverud had a successful London debut in 1992 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. His New York debut was as soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at the Lincoln Center. The New York Times described his playing as “a warm-toned affectionate account.”

Saeverud has produced nine CDs. His last release, “HIKA,” was chosen as Strad Selection in the May 2002 issue of The Strad, which wrote: “a gem of a disc … outmost fragility … shimmeringly beautiful … makes every phrase speak.”

Currently, Saeverud and his artist wife, Joan, live in Robbinston, where she exhibits in her own art gallery and he is the artistic director of an international music camp and festival.

Tickets for the classical concert range from $13 to $40 with senior and youth discounts available, and may be reserved online at bangorsymphony.com or by calling the Bangor Symphony Orchestra box office at 942-5555 or (800) 639-3221.