It started with one person's vision. Eight decades later, Lubbock is still showing up.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra will celebrate 80 years of orchestral music on the South Plains with a performance of Verdi’s dramatic choral masterwork, Messa da Requiem, at Buddy Holly Hall.
"William Harrod had a vision for what Lubbock could be," said Heather Hocker, chief executive officer of the LSO. "Eighty years later, we're still building on it. We began on the stage of Lubbock High School. We now perform in one of the finest concert halls in the country. That distance, from a high school auditorium to Buddy Holly Hall, reflects the ongoing story of a growing city."
LSO’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m., with the Lubbock Chorale joining
conductor David Cho and the full orchestra for one of the most ambitious performances in the LSO's history. Verdi composed his Messa da Requiem in 1874. According to music historians, it has become the most performed choral work written since Mozart.
“The Verdi Requiem is one of those massive and intensely dramatic pieces that demands your full attention from the first note,” said Cho, who is in his 15th season conducting the LSO. “The music is deeply human and is unlike anything else in the symphonic repertoire. To perform it in our 80th season, with the Lubbock Chorale, our beloved LSO musicians, and four world-class vocal soloists on the Buddy Holly Hall stage, is the greatest honor. These musicians and artists have earned this moment to shed light on one of the greatest masterworks ever penned.”
Doors open at 6 p.m. The Keegan Peck Quartet, a local jazz ensemble, will perform in the lobby prior to the evening’s highlight performance.
The 80th anniversary is presented by Armstrong Plumbing, Air and Electric, with anniversary celebration sponsorship from Alan Henry Insurance, Casserole Premium Quality Beans, Chicken Express, Evensky and Katz/Foldes Wealth Management, and Robinson and Malone Dentistry. The performance is also supported in part by The CH Foundation, the Helen Jones Foundation, the Lubbock Symphony Guild, the C&A McDonald Family Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the City of Lubbock as recommended by Civic Lubbock, Inc.
Tickets are available at etix.com. The Buddy Holly Hall is located in the Lubbock Cultural District at Mac Davis Lane and Avenue L.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock Symphony Orchestra celebrates 80 years on the South Plains
