As a frequent guest soloist for Indiana Wind Symphony, Kelleen Strutz always enjoys her appearances.
This one will be extra special as the Carmel pianist will perform Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor” in the “Thunder and Silence” concert at 6:30 p.m. April 10 at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
“I am looking most forward to creating a passionate musical experience with the Indiana Wind Symphony and sharing that with the audience,” Strutz said. “Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Concerto is one of the most beloved pieces of music with recognizable, soaring themes and emotional intensity, definitely one of my favorites to perform.”
IWS Music Director Charles Conrad said Strutz is a joy to have as part of a program.
“She is a wonderful musician both in popular jazz as well as classical,” Conrad said. “She won’t be singing in this concert unless she does it as an encore. She might do something where she sings and plays then.”
Conrad said Rachmaninoff’s piece has been used in popular songs through the years.
The last movement was used for “Full Moon and Empty Arms,” a song by Frank Sinatra in 1945.
The second movement was used as the verse on Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself” in 1976.
The concert starts with Henry Fillmore’s “Rolling Thunder” and closes with Frank Ticheli’s “Blue Shades.”
“It has a lot of jazzy sounding, New Orleans-influenced melodies and riffs,” Conrad said of “Blue Shades.” “It’s been around since he wrote it in 1997. It’s one of the most popular band pieces of the last quarter century.”
The concert includes John Philip Sousa’s march “The Thunderer.”
Conrad said Julis Fucik’s “Thunder and Blazes” might not be recognizable as a title.
“But it’s the most famous circus march ever,” he said. “It was a German military march with a slow, stately tempo. The Barnum & Bailey Circus happened to be touring Europe around 1897 and they must have heard about it and brought it back to America.”
There also is a new march called “The Lightning Brigade” by James Barnes. IWS did the premiere approximately three years ago. Barnes is a student of military history, particularly the Civil War. The piece celebrates Gen. John T. Wilder, a Greesburg resident who equipped is mounted infantry with Spencer repeating rifles.
For more, indianawindsymphony.org.
