Film composer creates piece for Wichita Symphony inspired by a visit to Cowtown

Programming a pandemic-safe Wichita Symphony Orchestra concert featuring only string players could be a breeze for conductor and musical director Daniel Hege.

“There’s a wealth of great string repertoire,” he said of the Saturday, Oct. 24 concert, the first of a coronavirus-altered schedule. “There are just so many. You could basically put them all up on a wall and throw darts and choose three or four pieces and have a great program.”

Instead, Hege said he decided to focus on classics bookending modern composers, and addressing what he called the “twin pandemics of 2020,” coronavirus and the country’s racial upheaval.

To accommodate 6-foot distancing and crowd size regulations, only about 400 of the 1,669 seats on the main floor of Century II can be occupied.

Symphony patrons can enjoy the concert through the “WSO Connect” program, which will provide video recordings of each performance for $150 per household for the entire season. Unlimited views are offered in a 30-day window beginning about a week after the concert – next weekend’s performance, for example, can be viewed from Oct. 30 to Nov. 28.

The performers will follow guidelines as well as the audience. Although the Century II stage could accommodate 30-plus performers keeping a 6-foot distance, the maximum number of string players next weekend will be 23. All of them, as well as Hege, will be masked throughout the entire performance, and audience members are expected to keep their masks on as well.

The program will begin with Mozart’s “Adagio and Fugue,” which Hege calls “very arresting.”

“It’s a work that’s not seen that often on programs, but it was a work he wrote after he discovered Bach’s music and his fugal writing and he wanted to pay homage to him in that way,” Hege said of the piece, about 9-10 minutes long.

The second is from Wang Jie, a Chinese-born American composer. Hege became interested in her work as both attended a virtual concert by Holly Mulcahy, WSO concertmaster.

“I was looking at her website and looking for pieces that would work with this instrumentation. And it’s perfect,” he said of Jie’s “Five Faces of Joy.”

“I thought what we could use is some joy,” Jie wrote in her concert notes.

“She basically depicts these different feelings of joy and different ways we express joy,” Hege said. “Sometimes it’s bombastic laughter and sometimes it’s sly or it’s an inward kind of joy.”

That is followed by a piece written for the WSO by George S. Clinton, a composer known for film work including the “Austin Powers” and “Santa Clause” movies. Clinton wrote “The Rose of Sonora,” a western-themed piece, for Mulcahy that was to have been performed in last April’s WSO concert.

“I wanted to feature him in some way on this program,” Hege said. “His music is immediately relatable and has that sort of cinematic quality to it that I think people will enjoy him immediately.”

The world premiere of “Prairie Reminiscence” was inspired by Clinton’s visit to Wichita Cowtown and will likely become a part of an entire suite dedicated to the city’s Old West attraction.

“He really found Cowtown to be quite enchanting and I think it inspired him. He began hearing notes right away of what he wanted to write,” said Hege, who said the work “shimmers with a gorgeous sound.”

“I think people knowing it is inspired by a cultural institution in Wichita is important,” he added.

The concert concludes with Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings,” which Hege calls “well worn” and “a familiar work with well-known melodies but, according to WSO records, has never been performed by the symphony.

“He uses Mozart as a model, which connects the first work and the Tchaikovsky together as bookends for the program,” Hege said.

Hege, who also is musical director and conductor for the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra in New York and principal guest conductor for the Tulsa Symphony, said next weekend will be only his second concert since the pandemic, following an outdoor concert this summer in the ballpark home of the Tulsa Drillers.

That concert also had its performers distancing, and he said he’s sure the Wichita players can adapt quickly.

“Somehow it just all comes together,” he said. “Musicians are highly trained to listen to each other, and when they sit next to each other listening is much easier. When they get spaced apart, musicians also have an ability to up their game a little bit and increase their radar or their antenna. They can sense how the sound is moving, where they need to be. Their awareness increases when that happens.”

Entering his 11th season with the Wichita Symphony, Hege said he welcomes returning to Century II and seeing players he has not seen in person since early March.

“This is extremely meaningful for me to come back and work with the Wichita Symphony musicians,” he said. “There’s something unique about an orchestra coming together, even if we have to be spaced apart a little farther than normal.”

Hege said the concert will be emotional, at least for him.

“I really consider the Wichita Symphony part of my family, and I like to be part of their family,” he said. “For me to get back together with those musicians and make music together is going to be incredibly special, and I just can’t wait for that to happen.”

Wichita Symphony Orchestra

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas

Tickets: $50, with a limit of 400 tickets sold, at wichitasymphony.org or 316-267-7658 (Century II box office is currently closed)

WSO Connect: An on-demand video of the concert will available from Oct. 30 to Nov. 28 for $150 for a household season subscription, available at wichitasymphony.org