Portland Symphony to celebrate 90 years with Organ & Choral Spectacular season opener on Sept. 30

The concert will open with Shostakovich’s “Festive” Overture before moving into Dvorak’s Humoresque, a delightful piece performed at the first PSO concert 90 years ago, when the PSO was called the “Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra.”

Composed as the finale to a long night of music, Beethoven’s “Fantasia for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra” will follow, and the evening will conclude with Janacek’s “Glagolitic Mass” – a piece written by an atheist to celebrate his Slavonic culture which surprisingly highlights some of the traditional elements of a Catholic mass.

Kramer is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Yale School of Music; he previously completed his Artist Diploma there and earned a Bachelor of Music from the Julliard School. Kramer has appeared as a soloist with the Shanghai Philharmonic and Orchestre Metropolitain du Montreal and has been featured in performances at Lincoln Center, Ravinia Festival, and the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest.

Cornils, Portland’s municipal organist, has extensive experience as a musical instructor; he serves on the faculty at University of Southern Maine and Bowdoin College. He has performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia’s famed Wanamaker Organ. This PSO concert marks the first occasion for an audience to hear the refurbished Kotzschmar Organ with the full orchestra.

The Choral Art Society has performed major choral works with the Portland Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years. All singers are skilled amateurs, selected by audition. Robert Russell, professor of music at the University of Southern Maine, has been the conductor and artistic director of The Choral Art Society for 34 years.

The concert features vocal soloists Angela Fout Nolle, soprano; Rita Litchfield, alto; Daniel Stein, tenor; and Aaron Engebreth, baritone.

For a preview of the pieces featured in this concert, a special playlist is available online at portlandsymphony.org.

Tickets to the PSO concert range from $25-$75 and are available at 207-842-0800, www.porttix.com or 20 Myrtle St., Monday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m.