The Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) led by Music Director David Lockington presents Gustav Holst’s The Planets with an accompanying video by The William R. Luebke Planetarium, The Great Valley Museum at Modesto Junior College on Friday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto.
Also featured will be the Women of the MSO Chorus, Daniel R. Afonso Jr., chorus director, in the final movement, Neptune, the Mystic. The concert opens with Verdi’s The Force of Destiny Overture and will also feature MSO Principal Trombonist Tom Hornig performing Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra.
“We are very excited to be featuring one of our musicians, Tom Hornig and to be collaborating with the Great Valley Museum, William R. Luebke Planetarium at Modesto Junior College,” said Caroline Nickel, President and CEO of Modesto Symphony Orchestra. “Everyone will be quite impressed when they see the video presentation that will accompany The Planets. We have really enjoyed collaborating with the staff at the Planetarium who have brought another dimension to the piece while being very sensitive to the music itself. And to celebrate our partnership, we are inviting all of our concert-goers to join us in the lobby after the concert for a reception on Saturday, Nov. 10 and enjoy planet themed macarons and prosecco.”
Music Director David Lockington has developed an impressive conducting career in the United States over the past 35 years. A native of Great Britain, he served as the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra from January 1999 to May 2015 and is currently the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. He was appointed to the position of Music Director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra in May 2007.
Trombonist Tom Hornig said he has enjoyed “a wide variety of performing and recording opportunities” over the last 25 years.
“My performance career got off to an exciting start when Michael Tilson Thomas invited me to join The New World Symphony as principal trombonist, a position I held for four seasons. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay area in 1992, I have had the pleasure of performing over 1000 concerts with the San Francisco Symphony and numerous productions with the San Francisco Opera. In addition, I am a regular member of the California Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, and Modesto Symphony.”
He has also been teaching at San Jose State University since 2003.
Formed in 2001, the Modesto Symphony Chorus is a regional ensemble of volunteer singers of all ages and experience who share a commitment to performing concerts of the highest artistic quality and enhancing the appreciation and enjoyment of choral music among members and audiences alike. Under the direction of Dr. Daniel R. Afonso, Jr., the MSO Chorus rehearses weekly and performs throughout the season with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and also for additional community events.
The William R. Luebke Planetarium, at The Great Valley Museum, Modesto Junior College is an instrumental learning environment within the Science Community Center. Students studying astronomy utilize the planetarium as a learning laboratory. The planetarium consists of a Zeiss Skymaster ZKP-4 LED/fiber-optic star projector coupled with the Zeiss Velvet Projection System. Together, these top-of-the-line projection instruments display unparalleled images of the night sky and full-dome planetarium films onto a 40-foot suspended dome ceiling for an audience of up to 100 people.
