Guest Artists: Peter McGuire-Violin, Tom Turner-Viola

RIDE OF THE VALKERIES - Wagner
ADAGIO FOR STRINGS - Barber
SINFONIA CONCERTANTE - Mozart (McGuire, Turner)
1812 OVERTURE - Tchaikovsky

Join Music Director and Conductor, Ken Freed, as he introduces these great immortal geniuses, Wagner, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. He will examine their separate lives, as well as their inner worlds and help us find the path between inspiration and empathy that distinguishes these titans of Western music. Local favorite Peter McGuire is joined by fellow Minnesota Orchestra Principal Violist, Thomas Turner, in the Sinfonia Concertante. Also hear the 1812 Overture with fresh ears as the Mankato Symphony opens its season gala.

Peter McGuire, violin

Peter McGuire, who joined the Orchestra’s first violin section in 2003, performed Prokofiev’s Quintet on a 2007 Winter Chamber Music concert. He was a featured soloist in Sommerfest 2006, playing works by Kreisler and Massenet under Andrew Litton. McGuire has performed in many Minnesota Orchestra chamber concerts, playing Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, Haydn’s String Quartet in F major, Schubert’s Trout Quintet and music from the films of Federico Fellini by Nino Rota.

A native of Mankato, Minnesota, McGuire began studying violin with Patti Tryhus at the Mankato Suzuki School at age four. He continued studies with Charles Gray at Saint Olaf College and with Sylvia Rosenberg at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

McGuire has served as associate concertmaster of the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, as first violinist of the Pioneer String Quartet of the Des Moines Symphony and as guest principal second violin of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has taught at Gustavus Adolphus College, and continues to perform as a recitalist, most recently at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, in 2006, playing works by Brahms, Beethoven and Franck.

McGuire is a visiting professor of violin at Gustavus Adolphus College, where one of his students is his younger brother.

Thomas Turner, principal viola

Thomas Turner joined the Minnesota Orchestra as principal viola in 1994.

Since moving to Minnesota, Turner has appeared as featured soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra on several occasions. In 1998 he performed the American premiere of the Britten Double Concerto with Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis; they performed the work again on subscription concerts in March 2001. Other featured performances include Michael Tippett's Concerto for String Trio and Orchestra in 2000, Bartók's Viola Concerto with in spring 2003 with three different conductors and the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Concerto for Viola and Clarinet with Principal Clarinet Burt Hara in 2005.

In past summers Turner has taught and performed at the Round Top Festival in Texas and at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in western Michigan. This summer he was a participant in the Oregon Bach Festival. Turner also performs frequently in chamber music concerts, appearing regularly with the Hill House Chamber Players.

Tuner graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Joseph DePasquale; after graduation, he began his career in Germany. From 1981 to 1983 he served as principal viola with the Varga Chamber Orchestra and the Hof Symphony. In 1983 Turner won the principal viola position with the Berlin Radio Symphony, staying with that orchestra until 1994, when he returned to the United States to take up his present position.

Thomas Turner was the winner of a 2004-2005 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music.

This concert is sponsored in part by
A Grant from the HICKORYTECH CORPORATION FOUNDATION
With additional support from Symphony Patrons