Major plans for this Springfield Symphony Orchestra concert include the integration of two slide shows in musical works, one by Ansel Adams, the other by children of Springfield Public Schools.

Another exciting project comes from American composer Michael Torke. Her concerto, “Sky”, was written for violinist Tessa Lark, who will perform the piece which offers a classical structure with folk styles. She raised the roof two years ago performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, followed by a bluegrass encore that she performed and sang. barefoot.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday February 15 at Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

“Copland Outdoor Overture” will begin the concert, then the orchestra will perform “Ansel Adams: America”, written by famous pianist Dave Brubeck and his son, Chris. A national selection of Adams photos will be synchronized with the music.

SSO’s Music Director Kyle Wiley Pickett said he liked the idea of ​​multimedia, but only when it made sense.

“In this particular case, it makes a lot of sense because you have a piece of music inspired by imagery – the wonderful photograph of Ansel Adams, one of the greatest fine art photographs of all time,” said Pickett said.

In addition, Copland’s music for Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” will receive multimedia processing. Young photographers will provide images of Springfield. “It’s a kid’s view of our town,” Pickett said.

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He chose ‘Our Town’ for this reason: “This sequel is Copland to its greatest Copland – so nostalgic and American and evocative… There is so much emotion, trying to capture the emotion of this piece. “Our Town” is both warm and tragic, happy and sad. There are a lot of conflicting emotions.

Torke’s piece for Lark has elements of Americana, bluegrass, a touch of minimalism and a little traditional dance rhythm. Above all, the concerto is of noble simplicity. Lark incorporated Kentucky folk music into classical forms.

“She has all the technical and musical skills of a classical violin virtuoso, and she has the soul of someone who grew up playing bluegrass,” Pickett said. “This piece combines those two things.”

Lark noted that borrowing from other styles has been a practice for centuries; However, the Internet makes music available worldwide and immediately. In this way, genres break up (Alouette prefers “styles of music” to “genre”).

“I think all of these styles are more similar than different, just like us as people,” she said, stressing that she chooses projects that allow such an approach.

“Sky” is a collaboration between composer Torke and violinist Lark. A different collaboration, one that pools the resources of several symphonies, supports the composer and brings new music to symphonies like SSO.

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Torke was writing a concerto for Lark, and she trained him in bluegrass and Appalachia and Scots-Irish music. Upon discovery, they found common ground between minimalism and Irish styles, she said.

“It’s very appropriate, especially in the second movement, when it’s inspired by Irish styles. There is a repetitive nature in a lot of Irish songs. The minimalist style works very well, ”she said.

And later: “There were times when I played his music, but played it in a different way than he imagined, but he loved it and that inspired him to take a different direction” , she said. “He’s so specific, but also flexible and open-minded.”

“It was fun working together and not knowing what the end product would be. What happened is truly incredible. It’s a fairly new sound.

Springfield Symphony

• Saturday February 15th
• 6.30 p.m. Pickett’s lecture from the stage
• 6:45 p.m. pre-concert music
• Beginning of the concert at 7:30 p.m.
• Hammons Hall, 525 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway
• Tickets: 417-836-7678, www.hammonshall.com
• Admission: $ 10 to $ 40