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| Seven Hills is a community orchestra whose players are almost entirely amateur volunteers and members of the medical school, hospital and wider community. |
The Seven Hills Symphony Orchestra will present its third and final concert of its 10thanniversary season on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Aaron Lazare Medical Research Building on the campus of UMass Medical School.
The concert will feature the World Premiere of “Spirit Resonance” by Gary Gackstatter, which was commissioned by the orchestra for the occasion. The following are excerpts from notes he wrote concerning his new composition.
“Individual human beings coming together as one to make music is a sacred act, in my opinion; it brings life to all involved. Making music is what makes us human beings. Making music for a lifetime is our goal. . . . To deny the Spirit Resonance is to deny what makes us musicians, what makes us human.”
Gackstatter is an active artist, composer, conductor, clinician, performer and teacher. He is the coordinator of music at Missouri Community College - Meramec in St. Louis and has been conductor of the Symphonic Band and Meramec Orchestra since 2007. Gackstatter has composed five symphonies combining music with other arts, and has arranged symphony debuts for Trio Globo, Three Dog Night, Kansas and many others. He is a two-time Kansas Governor’s Arts Award recipient. Several seasons ago, Seven Hills Symphony played his “Grouse Creek Symphony” to great acclaim.
The orchestra will also perform Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2,” 3rd & 4th movements and selections from “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint Säens, orchestrated by Rosenhaus on May 8.
Since its founding at UMass Medical School 10 years ago, Seven Hills Symphony has been led by music director Scott Chaurette. Chaurette is the chair of the Fine Arts Department and director of orchestral activities at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn. An accomplished double bassist, he holds a bachelor of music from the Boston Conservatory and a master’s of music from the University of Illinois. He has performed with ensembles including the Portland Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Hop River Chamber Players. Chaurette has also studied jazz and contemporary styles, and bass guitar technique at the Berklee College of Music. He has more 20 years of experience playing in bands ranging in style from rock, to R&B, to tango.
Seven Hills is a community orchestra whose players are almost entirely amateur volunteers and members of the medical school, hospital and wider community. Its motto is Community through music. The orchestra has performed more than 30 concerts in the Worcester area.
Admission is free with donations gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be available at intermission. For more information, visit www.shsymphony.org.
