The Lakeland Civic Orchestra will present its third concert of the Arts at Lakeland’s 2023-2024 season with a program titled “Invitation to the Dance” Sunday, March 3, at 4 p.m. in the Dr. Wayne L. Rodehorst Performing Arts Center on Lakeland’s campus.

Dr. Matthew C. Saunders will lead the 55-member orchestra in spirited performances of classic works from greats like Antonín Dvorák, George Gershwin, Caroline Shaw and Carl Maria von Weber.

The concert will open with Dvorák’s “Slavonic Dances,” specifically the first and third dances from the composer’s first set, which represent the furiant and the polka.

They will then present selections from Gershwin’s 1935 opera, “Porgy and Bess,” compiled by Robert Russell Bennett. The opera is heralded as a groundbreaking combination of Gershwin’s genius for popular song and classical music sensibility.

Following a brief intermission, the orchestra will present “Entr’acte,” composed by Caroline Shaw, the youngest composer to ever receive the Pulitzer Prize in music.

As for the concert’s namesake, Weber’s “Invitation to the Dance” will conclude the program. The well-known orchestration conjures the grace and grandeur of a 19^th century waltz between two demure lovers.

Concert tickets can be purchased at the box office upon arrival or online at lakelandcc.edu/arts. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $6 for Lakeland alumni, senior citizens and veterans and $2 for current students, children and teens. Online purchasers should bring their order confirmation to show at the door. The Dr. Wayne L. Rodehorst Performing Arts Center is located on the first floor of the D-Building on the campus of Lakeland Community College, which is located at 7700 Clocktower Drive in Kirtland at the I-90/State Route 306 exit. Free parking is available.

ABOUT THE LAKELAND CIVIC ORCHESTRA

The Lakeland Civic Orchestra performs four concerts annually and rehearses Monday evenings on Lakeland’s main campus from August through May. Orchestra members come from many different backgrounds, from passionate amateurs to professional musicians seeking additional performance opportunities, and from ages 14 to 80. Lakeland students may earn one college credit per semester for their participation.

To learn more about Lakeland’s civic music programs, including how to audition for the ensembles, you may contact Dr. Matthew Saunders at 440.525.7105 or msaunders4@lakelandcc.edu.

By: Charles Hegedus, Mrktg and Commun Specialist