Ottawa Hills Student to Perform as Soloist with Firelands Symphony Orchestra
HURON, OH – The Firelands Symphony Orchestra (FSO) continues their 2022-23 concert season with the strings concert Across the Seasons on Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the newly renovated Sawmill Creek Convention Center in Huron, OH. The concert will feature Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, with young violinist Freya Klaas (from Ottawa Hills High School) performing as a guest soloist.
Freya Klaas is 14 years old and a freshman at Ottawa Hills High School. She began studying violin at the age of 3 and is a student of Anna Weller. In 2016 Freya joined the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestra as its youngest member. That season she also won the TSYO solo competition. In 2022 Freya won the Toledo Symphony League's Young Artist Competition and performed as a soloist with the Toledo Symphony. Freya has also been a featured soloist on Toledo Symphony Chamber Players concerts.
Freya enjoys playing chamber music as well. Most recently, her piano trio, the Triple Tonic Trio, won the Audience Award at the Glass City Chamber Music Competition. In addition to playing violin, Freya enjoys running varsity cross country, playing trumpet in band, and spending time with her two cats.
Carl Topilow, music director and conductor of FSO presents the group’s first all strings concert, featuring over 30 musicians on violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano. The concert opens with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, one of his most notable works. The piece is comprised of four violin concertos representing each of the four seasons. In them Vivaldi using music to represent flowing creeks, singing birds, a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, storms, drunken dancers, hunting parties, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires.
The concert season theme this year is “Looking to the Future”, and this concert will highlight four young violinists performing a solo from each concerto: Freya Klaas (Ottawa Hills High School) performing Spring, Yuki Nakamura (Lenawee Christian School) performing Summer, Elizabeth Huang (Shaker Heights High School) performing Autumn, and Anthony Yang (Cleveland Institute of Music Pre-College) performing Winter.
The evening of music will continue with other masterpieces for string orchestras. One easily recognized piece will be Pachelbel’s Canon in D, widely performed and highly regarded as a staple of Baroque music. Biber’s Battalia à 10, depicting troops in battle, uses many non-traditional musical techniques, including striking the bow on the instrument and woven paper through strings. St. Paul's Suite by English composer Gustav Holst (best known for his orchestral suite The Planets) was named after the all-girls school he composed the piece for and is very popular amongst string orchestras.
“This will be a great opportunity for our audiences to experience an all strings performance as part of our season, and we are so excited to feature Ms. Klaas’s talent as a showcase to the future of musicianship,” commented Board President Nike Mendenahll.
General admission tickets for this concert are available for $25 at firelandssymphony.com/tickets or by calling the FSO office at 419.621.4800 (Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Student tickets for youth are complementary, as well as for college students with a valid student I.D. at the time of purchase. For these special ticket offers, please call the FSO office or claim at the door on the day of the event.
Sawmill Creek Resort is located at 400 Sawmill Creek Drive W in Huron. When entering the site, attendees should follow signage for the conference center parking and entrance. Concessions are available and are cashless.
ABOUT FIRELANDS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Carl Topilow, Music Director and Conductor
The Firelands Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is a non-profit regional arts organization sustained by strong community support and patron loyalty. The FSO mission is “enriching lives through music”. The organization achieves its mission by engaging audiences with outstanding live performances, cultivating appreciation for musical excellence through education and community engagement while maintaining high standards of organizational and financial stability. Visit www.firelandssymphony.com.
Organization Name: Firelands Symphony Orchestra
Website or Link: www.firelandssymphony.com
Organization Address / City / State: 1 University Drive, Huron, OH 44839