Latin GRAMMY® Award winning composer and conductor to visit the Magic City

MINOT, N.D. – Latin GRAMMY® Award winning composer and conductor Eddie Mora will appear as the guest conductor with the Minot Symphony Orchestra Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at Minot State University’s Ann Nicole Nelson Hall.

Mora is the artistic director of the Heredia Symphony Orchestra and is a tenured professor of music at the University of Costa Rica School of Music. Mora was nominated for Latin GRAMMY® Awards as composer and conductor in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022.

Mora is the winner of the Best Classical Music Album category in the 2017 Latin GRAMMY® Awards for a CD production conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. Mora was recently nominated fr Best Classical Music Album for his composition, “El Ruido del Agua,” as well as “Best Classical Contemporary Composition for “Cuatro Haikus.” The Latin GRAMMY® Awards will be announced in Las Vegas, Nevada on Nov. 17.

“I’m very excited that the MSO is hosting such a wonderful conductor and composer as Maestro Mora,” said Efraín Amaya, MSO music director and Minot State composition and theory associate professor. “He’s not only an excellent musician but he’s also a warm and kind person who I know will win the hearts of the orchestra and all Minotians.”

The Hidden Gem concert will include Mora’s “El Ruido del Agua” (“The Noise of Water”), which belongs to a cycle of compositions written by Mora between the years 2017 and 2021, based on the haiku poem by Seira Matsuoka titled “1740-1791.” “El Ruido del Agua” was commissioned and dedicated to the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Luis A. Víquez in 2020.

The performance will also feature the rarely performed — hidden gem — “Symphony No. 1” by Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov. Despite his short 35-year life, Kalinnikov wrote 12 orchestral works, around 20 songs and choral pieces, nine works for solo piano, and was working on an opera at the time of his death. Kalinnikov’s work will be enjoyed by all, especially those who are familiar with the work of Tchaikovsky.

Considered the father of modern Russian music, Mikhail Glinka’s nationalistic, Russian style will excite everyone in attendance. His seminal influence on all Russian composers who followed, from Rimsky-Korsakov to Tchaikovsky to Stravinsky, Glinka’s “Russlan and Ludmilla Overture” is a fast and fun piece full of energy and a uniquely Russian combination of earthy exuberance and heroic feeling.

A pre-concert talk will provide an engaging overview of the works being performed and the story behind the music, composer, and historical context will be presented at 6 p.m. and is included with a concert ticket.

Tickets start at $30 for adults with active military, senior, and student discounts available. Tickets are available at minotsymphony.com or through the box office at 701-858-4228.

The Minot Symphony Orchestra is a unique blend of student, community, and professional musicians from the Minot area. The symphony is directed by Maestro Amaya. This project is supported in part by grants from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Minot Area Council of the Arts.

About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.

Published: 10/25/22   




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