Winter Wonders: A Look at the Nextgen Winter Concert Repertoire

This Sunday (3/1/2026, at 3:30pm), our Overture and Allegretto students will fill the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church. This concert, like Nextgen’s Fall concert from October, brings these two stunning groups together on one stage, providing an exciting new experience for players and audience members alike. In the past, we have had Allegretto and Overture present two concerts where each group works on their own repertoire. But with some enrollment challenges came an opportunity to try something new. Now, Overture students get to work with more advanced repertoire, Allegretto students get the opportunity to play in a full symphonic orchestra, and our audience gets to experience the incredible work of both groups in one wonderful concert!

Allegretto:

Adagio in G Minor for strings and organ (on two thematic ideas and a figured bass by Tomaso Albinoni) – Remo Giazotto

Often referred to as “Albinoni’s Adagio,” this Neo-Baroque work was composed by Remo Giazotto in 1958 based, allegedly, on a 6-bar manuscript fragment and a figured bass by Tomaso Albinoni found in Dresden. Here we find a small spark of controversy, as Giazotto never produced the original fragment, leading some to believe the origins of this piece might be a ‘hoax.’ Nevertheless, this modern composition is a staple of classical repertoire, gaining popularity for its solemn, haunting melody. The piece found its way into popular culture as well, featured in film, television programs, advertisements, and music. Noteworthy instances include Werner Herzog’s 1974 film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Miley Cyrus’s “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved,” a 2005 episode of Malcolm in the Middle, and Sarah Brightman’s song “Anytime, Anywhere” from her 1998 album Eden.       

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – Ludwig van Beethoven

Written and premiered between 1812 and 1814, this generally light-hearted Symphony was fondly referred to by its creator as “my little Symphony in F.” This was Beethoven’s penultimate and shortest symphony, premiered by Beethoven in the Redoutensaal in Vienna, where the Seventh Symphony was premiered only two months earlier. At this time, Beethoven was growing increasingly deaf, and it has been reported that the orchestra largely ignored the composer’s gestures and followed the principal violinist instead. Despite a somewhat chilly reception, or at least, one not reaching the furor of previous symphonies, Beethoven’s assessment of the work notes that “[i]n all subtler respects the Eighth is better [than the Seventh].” Later composers, musicians, and music historians have described this work as “a beautiful, brief, ironic look backward to Haydn and Mozart” and praised its “idyllic and even hymnlike episodes.”

Overture:

Slavonic Dance No. 8 – Antonín Dvořák (arr. Steven L. Rosenhaus)

Originally composed for piano four hands, Dvořák’s 16 Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms’s own Hungarian Dances. Following a warm reception, these lively pieces, full of national character, are considered among Dvořák’s most memorable works. Despite the folk nature of these works, existing folk melodies are never actually quoted but rather evoked in spirit and style through traditional rhythmic patterns. No. 8 is often regarded as one of the most popular of the 16 dances. Dance No. 8 is a furiant, a Bohemian dance that contrasts 2/4 with ¾ meter, and is notable in its emphasis on the offbeats, quick alternation between major and minor, and fascinating modulation and mutation of the main phrase up and down the scale.

Dogwood (2024) – Brian Norcross

It is always a joy to hear works by living composers, and it’s especially satisfying when those composers work directly with the musicians performing these works. We’ll save the deeper explanation of this piece for Sunday, where you can hear directly from the composer himself!

Selections from Phantom of the Opera – Andrew Lloyd Webber (arr. Calvin Custer)

The longest running show in Broadway history (and second-longest running West End musical), The Phantom of the Opera premiered in London’s West End in 1986 and then on Broadway in New York in 1988 staring English classical soprano Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae and screen and stage star Michael Crawford as the Phantom. This story, based on the 1910 novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux follows the tragic story of soprano Christine Daae who becomes the object of obsession for a mysterious and disfigured musical genius living in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. This medley hits all of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic themes with which audiences have grown familiar, from the raw power of a full (real) pipe organ in the overture, the sweet melody of “All I Ask of You,” the mysterious and foreboding appearance of the Phantom in “Masquerade” and the tantalizing “Music of the Night.”

Selections from The Firebird Suite – Igor Stravinsky (arr. Merle J. Isaac)

We round out this afternoon of iconic works with the piece that turned a 20-something Igor Stravinsky famous practically overnight. Premiered 1910 in Paris by Ballets Russes under the direction of Sergie Diaghilev, The Firebird Suite draws from Russian folk tales to tell the story of Prince Ivan and the radiant Firebird. Each character is vividly painted with orchestral color, with twisting, sparkling lines for the Firebird and the unmistakable thrum and stomping rhythm of Prince Ivan and his court. This incredible piece has been featured in films, television, and even the ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

You can secure tickets to Nextgen's Winter Concert here