Marietta’s faculty aren’t just talented professors in the classroom, they are also respected leaders in their fields.
When the River Cities Symphony Orchestra began planning for its May 15th Marietta Masterworks performance, they connected with Dr. Andy Francis, Associate Professor and Chair of Marietta College’s Music Department. The award-winning composer and percussionist began writing a piece for the concert, which will take place in Peoples Bank Theatre. Tickets range from $14 to $39 and are available here.
“I finished the orchestration at the end of February, so this is very recent,” Francis said. “It’s called, I remember when it hurt. ... This is the first time I have collaborated with them.”
Celebrating its 25th season this year, the River Cities Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in Marietta. In addition to performing Francis’ work during the concert, the group will also perform pieces from composers Nickolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Provofiev and Antonin Dvorak. The orchestra’s 2021 Youth Concerto Competition winner, Anna Linder, will also be performing Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.
Francis, who joined the College in 2015, has had his music performed by many nationally recognized ensembles, including the West Point Woodwind Quintet, Alarm Will Sound, and the Dali String Quartet, and performed at numerous festivals, conferences and universities across the United States and abroad.
“I think this is a good opportunity for our music department to continue to foster a relationship with a performing group that is local,” Francis said, “and that relationship could extend to more collaborations with faculty and also with our students.”