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Northern Arts & Culture: Marquette Symphony Orchestra's "Prokofiev and Price" concert

Marquette Symphony Orchestra
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Music of quality and diversity featured with the MSO

The Marquette Symphony Orchestra is back, with an in-person performance of the music of Sergei Prokofiev and Florence Price.

Joining them on stage is guest soloist Xiaoya Liu, the winner of the 2020 MSO Youth Concerto Competition. Due to a pandemic delay, she now joins the orchestra on stage in March 2022.

See a preview of Xiaoya's performance style:

MSO Concerto Competition Winner Xiaoya Liu will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. A top prize winner in numerous international piano competitions, Ms. Liu is collaborating as a classical pianist with recording label Centaur Records to record and release her studio CD album 'The Forgotten'. She will also collaborate with the recording label Dynamic for the world premiere recording of 'Carl Vine Complete Piano Sonatas' with studio recording engagements with Dynamic through next year. In the upcoming months and years, Ms. Liu will continuously perform as a featured soloist for the Crystal Valley Concert Series, and she will regularly perform piano studio recordings with the recording labels KNS Classical and Dynamic on collections of Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos.

Along with the music of Prokofiev, the Marquette Symphony Orchestra also will perform the music of Florence Price: her Symphony No. 1 in E Minor.

Florence Price's Symphony No. 1 was the first symphony by a Black woman to be performed by a major American orchestra (Chicago Symphony Orchestra).

This concert also marks a special occasion, as Octavio Más-Arocas has taken the position of Music Director, and continues his role as MSO's Principal Conductor. We asked him to comment on his new role, and about the quality of music that the Marquette Symphony Orchestra brings to the region:

Kurt: "Octavio, you've been the Principal Conductor of the Marquette Symphony since 2018, leading them through various masterworks, both in indoor and outdoor concerts, a vocal competition, the shift to online performances during the height of the pandemic, and also helping the MSO celebrate 25 years. Now, I hear you have some exciting news about a new role you've taken on; please tell us about it."

Octavio: "I am extremely happy to have been promoted to the Music Director position, previous to that I was in the title of Principal Conductor. I take this as a recognition of our work together over the last few years, and the exciting work still ahead of us. I am excited to continue contributing whatever I can to this wonderful organization. The Music Director position allows me to be more involved with certain decisions and with the vision we all have for the future of the orchestra."

Kurt: "A symphony is known to perform music of quality. Octavio, tell us your thoughts on the MSO's quality of performances, and diversity in programming for MSO concerts."

Octavio: "Quality in this sense means so much more than putting together an excellent performance. Quality means bringing to Marquette music, artists, live performances, projects that enhance the lives of those in the community. Quality means giving access to beauty and doing so by bringing people together. Quality means being conscious of how the world around us is shaping and reacting to that. Quality means to give voice to those that have been historically underrepresented. We are committed to that quality, to do whatever is in our power to make this a better world."

Tickets can be purchased at https://nmu.universitytickets.com.

For more information visit the Marquette Symphony Orchestras website at http://marquettesymphony.org/

Kurt lives in Marquette with his family and can’t imagine living anywhere else. He loves music, games, running, being near water, and a fine cold brew coffee.
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