SCF Bradenton Symphony features Saint-Seans, Grieg

The State College of Florida Bradenton Symphony Orchestra is pulling out all the stops for its upcoming concert, and that’s not just a figure of speech.

The highlight of the concert, which is set for Friday at the Neel Performing Arts Center at SCF, is Camille Saint-Saens’ third symphony, which is commonly called the “Organ Symphony.” John Lucado, music director at Redeemer Lutheran Church and an SCF faculty member in Business & Technology, will perform the organ part.

Saint-Saens composed the symphony in 1886, and considered it one of his finest musical achievements. Two of the symphony’s four sections feature a pipe organ.

“Cranking up that organ is always a big attraction for Bradenton,” said Robyn Bell, the symphony’s director.

Also on the program are Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto” and Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture.”

The soloist on the Grieg concerto is Aza Torshkoeva of the SCF piano faculty.

Torshkoeva has performed in Manhattan with the Florida Orchestra, and is a winner of the Florida Orchestra’s Concerto Competition and the State of Florida Piano Competition. She also has won more than 30 Russian regional and international piano competitions and was a prize winner of the International Piano Competition in Finland.

Details: 8 p.m. April 21, Neel Performing Arts Center at State College of Florida, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton. $15 general, $5 students and SCF employees. 941-752-5252, SCFtickets.com.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 2:23 PM with the headline "SCF Bradenton Symphony features Saint-Seans, Grieg."