Next week, the Hult Center for the Performing Arts (1 Eugene Center) is hosting a performance by the Eugene Symphony followed by discussions with music director Danail Rachev and the week’s featured guest artist. The show’s free-of-charge preview starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22. The main performance, presented by the Eugene Symphony with master saxophonist Branford Marsalis, starts at 8 p.m. the same night. Tickets for the main performance start at $40 and can be found on the Hult Center’s website.
As listed on the Hult Center’s website, the program list includes four pieces, which will be performed by the Eugene Symphony with guest saxophonist Marsalis. Surely the high energy of these compositions will keep the audience light on their feet. The four pieces and their respective composers include:
Jacques Ibert: Concertino da Camera for Alto Saxophone
John Harbison: Remembering Gatsby
John Williams: Escapades for Alto Saxophone
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Whether you wind up sitting up in the balcony or in the mezzanine somewhere, this event serves as a brilliant opportunity to have a personal, jazz-heavy night of ease or a chance to take a group of friends and get involved with art. These performers work tirelessly through weekly rehearsals with hours of personal practice. This is an utterly convincing argument that this showcase is one worth catching, especially for its emphasis on jazz music on this particular evening.