String Along with the Humboldt Symphony (and Guests)

 String along with the Humboldt Symphony string section and the Eureka High School String Orchestra in their shared concert with a combined finale on Saturday November 1 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

 After the Eureka High players perform the first half of the concert, the Humboldt Symphony offers excerpts from three pieces for string orchestra. “Featuring our string section only is very unusual for us,” notes conductor Paul Cummings.

 “From Holberg’s Time” by 19th century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg “is a famous work,” Cumming said. “In typical Grieg style, there is always something melodic happening. Melody really drives his music.”

 Grieg wrote this suite for strings to commemorate the bicentennial of Ludvig Holberg, a writer credited with pioneering modern Norwegian and Danish literature in the early 18th century.

 The Symphony also performs several movements of the best-known work for strings by Italian Baroque composer Archangelo Corelli, and a distinctly modern work by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Karel Husa. 

 “We’ll play the first movement of the Husa, which is a set of highly contrasting variations,” Cummings said. “Some are very tonal, very singable and others are abstract, so you may be surprised that the same composer could have written all of them. It’s really good music by a good composer.” 

 The combined concert ends with a collaboration by both string ensembles.

 The Humboldt Symphony and Eureka High School String Orchestra perform on Saturday November 1 at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU in Arcata. Tickets are $8 general, $5 seniors and children, and free to HSU students, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Concert produced by HSU Music Department.