The Modesto Junior College Community Orchestra, directed by Professor Anne Martin, will present a concert entitled Batons and Wands: Harry Potter meets Hector Berlioz on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Auditorium on East campus. Tickets will be available at the door for $5 general admission and $1 for students and senior citizens.

The spring concert opens with Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture. Also included on the program are Rhosymedre by Vaughan Williams, Serenade for Strings by Antonin Dvorak, Blue Tango by Leroy Anderson and the Castillane by Massenet.

Duana Demus-Leslie will be the featured soloist in Verdi’s famous aria Pace, pace, mio Dio from the opera, La Forza del Destino. She has performed with many international opera stars including Placido Domingo and Ruth Ann Swenson. Demus-Leslie received her Doctor of Musical Arts from UCLA and has been teaching at MJC since fall 2008.

The concert concludes with The Complete Harry Potter: Themes from all eight movies. The arrangement by Jerry Brubaker will include music composed by John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat.

The college invites the community to support orchestra music by attending the performance, and stage manager Ty Helton has indicated that “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” (from the Harry Potter series) will also be in attendance to enjoy the concert.

The MJC Community Orchestra membership includes college students, high school students, teachers, local professional musicians, business owners, a lawyer, a farm manager, an engineer, and a pilot.

For more information contact Professor Anne Martin at (209) 575-6646, or martina@mjc.edu