Eastern CT Symphony Orchestra Hosts Free Open Rehearsal Feb 20

The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra invites senior citizens and students to the annual Free Open Rehearsal on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at The Garde Arts Center in New London from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. Generously sponsored by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, it is a full, live rehearsal of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Toshiyuki Shimada, Music Director and Conductor.

For free admission, please fill out and turn in the ticket available at www.ectsymphony.com or by calling the ECSO box office at 860-443-2876. Students who are not in high school must be accompanied by an adult. Please plan to arrive 20 minutes early and be in your seats when the rehearsal begins.

In honor of American Heart Health Month, composer Thomas Duffy appears as guest conductor for his piece Heart Throb, a sonic depiction of a human heartbeat featuring ECSO’s principal percussionist Constance I. Coghlan. Guest artist Alan Ohkubo joins the orchestra to perform Antonin DvoÃ???ák’s Cello Concerto, hailed as one of the greatest ever written for the instrument. Works of Dmitri Shostakovich will close the concert, beginning with his tuneful Romance from The Gadfly. His Symphony No. 9 is light and playful, surprising at times, and ends the concert on a buoyant note.

Escape and refresh with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra! The ECSO performs 6 classical concerts from October to May at the Garde Arts Center in New London.

The ECSO offers a range of affordable seating options from $62 to as low as $12 for attendance to one concert. New this season, the ECSO will offer those under 30 years of age $12 tickets in premium sections. Additionally, $12 rush tickets will be available the night of every concert to those under 30 and any active or retired military.

Music Director & Conductor Toshiyuki Shimada has programmed an exciting season showcasing the ECSO's critically acclaimed virtuosity and scope of repertoire ranging from Classical and Romantic-era favorites to newly composed, cutting-edge international works. Visit www.ectsymphony.com for more information and follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ectsymphony.

Founded in 1946, the mission of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is to perform high quality symphonic music and conduct educational outreach programs.