By Randi Bjornstad

The Eugene Symphony is offering a reprise during its Oct. 19 concert of a previous performance, Prefontaine. This rendition has additional cachet — and a special role for the audience — because it will be recorded live as the Eugene Symphony’s first-ever commercial release.

Eugene Symphony’s Francesco Lecce-Chong

The concert opens with Water Sings Fire by Andrea Reinkemeyer. Next comes symphony conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong playing the harpsichord as the orchestra, with harpist Chloe Tula, performs George Frideric Handel’s Harp Concerto. That’s followed by  concertmaster Searmi Park leading the orchestra in Antonio Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto.

Then comes the pièce de résistance, Oregon composer David Schiff’s Prefontaine, which the Eugene Symphony first performed on June 3, 2022, a year later than originally planned because of the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The original composition is accompanied by a multimedia presentation of Oregon athlete Steve Prefontaine’s life and running career. Following is a link to that earlier story published on Eugene Scene:

https://eugenescene.org/eugene-symphony-celebrates-the-too-short-life-and-career-of-extraordinary-oregon-runner-steve-prefontaine/

Because the concert also will be a recording session, the Eugene Symphony requests that audience members observe the following protocols:

  • Be settled in your seats before the 7:30 p.m. start time and again before the end of the intermission.
  • Avoid conversation while the orchestra is performing and when conductor Lecce-Chong is speaking.
  • Avoid opening concessions items during the performance.

Prefontaine and more at the Eugene Symphony

When: 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023

Where: Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Center (Seventh and Willamette streets), in downtown Eugene

Tickets: $10 to $68, available online at eugenesymphony.org or hultcenter.org, or in person at the Hult Center box office (noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday)

Pre-concert activities

  • Symphony Happy Hour — 5 p.m., on Monday, Oct. 16 at 5th Street Market Eateries. Admission free. Symphony music director Francesco Lecce-Chong talks about the musical works and composers, as well as to his wife and harpist Chloe Tula about her performance of the Handel Harp Concerto.
  • ESYO Night at the Symphony — Annual even to celebrate the symphony’s association with the Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestras. Musicians from one of the ESYO orchestras will perform in The Studio on the lower floor of the Hult Center before the Guild Legacy Pre-Concert Talk at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 and again in the Hult Center lobby at 7 p.m. before the symphony concert begins.
  • Guild Legacy Pre-Concert Talk — 6:30 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. concert on Thursday, Oct. 19, in The Studio on the lower level of the Hult Center. Enter through the Hult Center lobby, not the exterior entrance to The Studio.

SPECIAL SECURITY NOTICE FROM THE HULT CENTER

The Hult Center has completed significant security upgrades, including the new EVOLV system at all venue entrances. Please note the following prohibited items:

  • Weapons of any kind, including pocketknives (larger than a keychain knife) (ORS 166.370)
  • Drugs and drug paraphernalia
  • Cameras with long or detachable lenses
  • Vaporizers and e-cigarettes may remain in your bag or pockets unless they are used in the hall or restrooms. At that point, they must be removed from the venue.

For more information: hultcenter.org/health_safety