The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra will continue its 13th season with a “New Year’s In Paradise” concert on Sunday at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay.
The concert gets underway at 4 p.m. in the grand ballroom. Artistic Director and Conductor Brian Dollinger’s inspiration for this program is a culmination of many years experiencing fanciful and exuberant concerts of the famed Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Vienna Philharmonic has a rich history and connection to the “King of the Waltz” Johann Strauss II, best known for “The Blue Danube.” He came from a family of composers, including father Johann Strauss I, the leader of a competing waltz orchestra, and younger brothers Josef Strauss and Eduard Strauss, and his reputation rests on a brilliant legacy of 400 waltzes, 300 polkas, gallops, marches and other dances, which perfectly matched the stylish, relaxed ambience of old Vienna.
The sweeping melodies and rich orchestration of these pieces makes them unique, and they are a dramatic representation of the composer’s charismatic personality.
Since 1941, the Vienna Philharmonic has performed whimsical New Year’s concerts of Viennese music for worldwide fans of not only the orchestra, but of classical music itself. Each year, a world-renowned guest conductor programs music that sets a festive mood for the audience, usually including lively but nostalgic pieces by various members of the Strauss dynasty and their contemporaries.
To extend celebration of the beginning of the new year, Dollinger has created a concert program that conjures up visions of ballroom parties, gowns and tuxedos, and glasses of champagne. It will include the Strauss waltz “Wine, Women and Song,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Overture to the Marriage of Figaro,” “Carnival Overture” by Antonin Dvorak, Jacques Offenbach’s “Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld,” and more.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.kamuelaphil.org. There is no cost for those 18 and younger. Parking is free.
The Kamuela Philharmonic is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing live, high-quality orchestral music to audiences on the Big Island.
Info: www.kamuelaphil.org.