The Surrey Symphony Society celebrates Mother’s Day weekend with West Side Story and more than 100 musicians in three Surrey Youth Orchestras for an afternoon of music.
Under the direction of Carla Birston, the Surrey Strings will perform Harold Birston’s arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story featuring Vancouver-born professional percussionist Phillip Crewe.
Crewe is Principal Timpanist for Vancouver Opera and has appeared with more than a dozen orchestras throughout B.C. He has also played on soundtrack recordings for Warner Brothers and Walt Disney, and was the timpanist for the 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
Also featured in this concert are the Surrey Youth Orchestra 2014 Concerto Competition winners, violinist Sunny Shih and cellist Yu An Cheng.
“Music is to be enjoyed,” says Cheng.
Having experience with numerous musical groups and performing on many different stages, Cheng feels that musicians must love the music they are playing in order for the audience to enjoy their performance.
Under the direction of Dr. John Van Deursen, the Surrey Youth Orchestra will perform Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) Overture, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole and Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1. Opening the concert, under the direction of Dr. Rick Dorfer are the Junior Strings and Chamber Music Program.
The Surrey Symphony Society will also present at least 10 scholarships to deserving members of all three orchestras for the upcoming 2014/15 season.
West Side Story will be May 10, 2 p.m. at the Bell Performing Arts Centre (6250 144 St.).
Tickets ($18/12) are available by calling 604-507-6355 or online at bellperformingartscentre.com.