Upcoming Events

Sunday July 9, 7:30 PM

Brookings Quadrangle

Music Under the Night Sky

Leon Burke III, Guest Conductor

Symphony #6 in F major, Op 68, “Pastoral”…….Ludwig van Beethoven                      

Star Trek Through the Years………..various composers, arr. Calvin Custer         

Star Wars Through the Years………………John Williams, arr. Stephen Bella

Grand Canyon Suite……………………….…………………………. Ferde Grofé    

The Gateway Festival Orchestra invites you to “Music Under the Night Sky”, the first of four summer concerts. Join Guest Conductor Dr. Leon Burke III and the GFO musicians in the open air of the Brookings Quadrangle for a musical tour of the Universe. We will begin on mother earth with Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, the “Pastorale”. From there we visit the heavens with the music of Star Trek followed by John Williams’ Star Wars.  Finally, we will return to terra firma with F. Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite. Join us on Sunday July 9th at 7:30 PM at the Washington University Brookings Quadrangle. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and maybe a picnic. The concert is free.

Parking at the Brookings Quadrangle

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Sunday July 16, 7:30 PM

560 Music Center

“Resplendent”

Darwin Aquino, Conductor

Kelly Austermann, Clarinet

In the Steppes of Central Asia…………………………….Alexander Borodin     

Introduction, Theme and Variations

      for Clarinet and Orchestra…………….……………….. Gioachino Rossini                    

Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944, “The Great”…………..Franz Schubert                 

The Gateway Festival Orchestra invites you to “Resplendent”, the second of its four summer concerts. You will enjoy three brilliant works of glowing splendor and beauty enhanced by the outstanding acoustics and air-conditioned comfort of the 560 Music Center. Music Director Darwin Aquino will lead the GFO, opening with the sublime lyricism of Borodin’s “In the Steppes of Central Asia”.  Next, GFO’s virtuoso principal clarinetist Kelly Austermann will solo in Rossini’s blazing “Variations”, a signature piece for the instrument! The night will close with the only symphony in history entitled “The Great”, from the hands of romantic composer Franz Schubert.  Join us July 16, 7:30 PM at the Washington University 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue, St. Louis MO 63130. The concert is free. Free parking is available in the garage behind the Center.

Maestro Aquino describes tonight’s program on Classic 107.3

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Sunday July 23, 7:30 PM

Brookings Quadrangle

“Musical Treasures”

Darwin Aquino, Conductor

T.J. Abernathy, Assistant Conductor, GFO Young Artist

Cynthia Yan, Flute – GFO Young Artist

Lillie Kang, Flute – GFO Young Artist

Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214…………………………………Johann Strauss II           

Symphony No. 8 in D minor………………………….Ralph Vaughan Williams            

Overture to Egmont, Op. 84…………………………….Ludwig van Beethoven     

Andante et Rondo for Two Flutes and Strings……………….Franz Doppler

Libertango…………………..Astor Piazzolla, orchestrated by John Meurer

Matinées Musicales, Op. 24

     (After Rossini’s Soirées Musicales)………………………Benjamin Britten        

Aladdin …………………………………………..Alan Menken, arr. J.G. Mortimer    

Guaguancó ……………………….Guido Lopez-Gavilán (St. Louis premiere)

L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2……………………………………………..Georges Bizet    

The Gateway Festival Orchestra invites you to “Musical Treasures”, the third of four summer concerts. Join Conductor Darwin Aquino and the GFO musicians in the open air of the Brookings Quadrangle for a magnificent selection of timeless treasures from a Beethoven overture to a Disney movie soundtrack. In celebration of youth, we proudly present our 2023 GFO’s Young Artists: Flautists Cynthia Yang and Lillie Kang will perform in Doppler’s Andante et Rondo for Two Flutes and Strings and Assistant Conductor T.J. Abernathy will take a turn with the baton. As a special treat we will enjoy the St. Louis premiere of G. Lopez Gavilan’s Guaguancó, a Cuban dance. Join us on Sunday July 23rd at 7:30 PM at the Washington University Brookings Quadrangle. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and maybe a picnic. The concert is free.

Parking at the Brookings Quadrangle

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Sunday July 30, 7:30 PM

560 Music Center

“Grand Finale”

Darwin Aquino, Conductor

Brian Woods, Piano

American Salute ………………………………………….………Morton Gould               

Suite in A major, Op. 98b, “American”……………………… Antonin Dvořák              

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18…….…………..Sergei Rachmaninoff          

The Gateway Festival Orchestra invites you to “Grand Finale”, the last of four summer concerts. Come and enjoy two unique approaches to American music, one by Czech composer Antonin Dvořák who lived in America, and another by American composer Morton Gould which features the popular song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”.  In addition, Special Guest Artist pianist Brian Woods, a rising star of international acclaim and dazzling stage presence, will perform one of the most favorite of classical compositions: Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. All is enhanced by the outstanding acoustics and air-conditioned comfort of the 560 Music Center. Join us Sunday July 30th at 7:30 PM at 560 Trinity Avenue, St. Louis MO 63130. The concert is free. Free parking is available in the garage behind the Center.

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