The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra concludes its 35th season with a concert entitled “Ethereal Weaves of Air” on Saturday, May 17 at 7 p.m., at the Franco Center in Lewiston, and Sunday, May 18, 2:30 p.m. at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham. Under the baton of MSO Music Director Rohan Smith, the orchestra will play Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s "Allegro Furioso" from his "Sinfonietta No. 1," Franz Josef Haydn’s "Symphony No. 83," and Sergei Prokofiev’s "Symphony No. 5."

Music Director Smith is excited about the program for the concert which contains pieces that have been on the MSO’s to-do list for quite some time. He states “all of the compositions contain exuberant melodies and elegant lyricism” along with a finale that speaks to “the resilience of the human spirit.” 

The African American composer Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004) was named after the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor, whose “Ballade” was played by MSO on its March concert. Perkinson wrote “Allegro furioso” when he was only 22. Smith describes it as “an incredibly refreshing piece with dynamic syncopations.” Haydn’s delightful "Symphony No. 83" is known as “La Poule” or “The Hen.” It received its nickname from the clucking sounds played by the oboe in the first movement, as well as other melodies that suggest chickens scratching.  

The entire second half of the program is devoted to Prokofiev’s "Fifth Symphony," written in 1944. Smith calls it “one of the most extraordinary and well-known pieces of the 20th century. It is a uniquely significant piece that is a great crowd pleaser with its triumphant quality, rapturous melodies, and sardonic humor.” Prokofiev himself called his composition "a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit."

Individual tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, with free admission for anyone 25 and under. Complete concert and ticket information is available at midcoastsymphony.org or by calling the box office at (207) 481-0790.

As usual, the audience is invited to arrive an hour early, and at intermission, for the pre-concert events in the “More with Midcoast” series. On Saturday at 6:15 in Franco's Heritage Hall, Mt. Ararat High School student Ryan Sweet performs several of his original solo piano compositions; on Sunday at 1:30, Maestro Smith and a section of the orchestra will demonstrate some of their rehearsal strategies in preparing for the concert. Also, at the Franco Center during intermission, two prize-winning high school musicians, cellist Ronan Sands and violinist Linnea Turesson, will perform music by Handel and Piazzolla.