MARSHFIELD – Anthony Ross, principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra, will be joining the UW-Marshfield/Wood County Symphony at its Annual Mother’s Day Concert, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, in the Helen Connor Laird Theatre at the UW-Marshfield/Wood County.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the Campus Box Office, which is open 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before performances. Tickets can also be ordered by phone at (715) 389-6534.

Ross will be the soloist for two pieces for cello and orchestra - “Silent Woods” by Dvorak and “Variations on a Rococo Theme” by Tchaikovsky.  The two are very different in character, said Timothy McCollum, conductor.

“The Dvorak ‘Silent Woods’ is an introspective work, emphasizing the composer's understanding of the cello's expressive nature,” McCollum said. “Tchaikovsky, however, went a different direction with his ‘Variations on a Rococo Theme.’  First, he departed from the usual three-movement format of the concerto and wrote a set of variations with true orchestral accompaniment.  Secondly, Tchaikovsky, an extreme Romanticist according to many, based his work on a style which comes out of the French Baroque traditions.  His treatment of this theme was Romantic, but the feeling is still light and dance-like.”

“The ‘Variations on a Rococo Theme’ is a wonderful vehicle for a virtuoso cellist,” Ross said. “It is full of pyrotechnical passages, tricks and some of the most beautiful singing melodies ever written for the cello. I’m looking forward to playing these two pieces in Marshfield.”

This is the second time Ross had performed in the Helen Connor Laird Theatre with the UW-Marshfield/Wood County Symphony.  About 10 years ago, he performed a cello concerto by Haydn.

Now in his 14th season as principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra, Ross holds the Elizabeth Bates Cowels Chair. He has soloed at subscription concerts in works of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Saint Sains, Lalo, Bloch and David Ott. Most recently, he was featured in performances of the Elgar Concerto.

A graduate of Indiana University, where he studied with Fritz Magg, Ross also earned a degree at the State University of New York; his teachers were Bernard Greenhouse and Timothy Eddy.

Ross was awarded the bronze medal at the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, prompting Pravda to praise his “exceptional mastery and brilliantly sensitive cello performances.”  In 2001, he was presented with a McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians, an award that encourages outstanding Minnesota performing musicians by providing financial support, professional development opportunities and recognition. His numerous other prizes include the Stulberg Award, and the G.B. Dealy Award.

The UW-Marshfield/Wood County Symphony has been in existence since 1965.  Both community members and UW-Marshfield/Wood County students perform in the orchestra, and guest artists are featured at most concerts.

On Dec. 10, the symphony will perform two shows of “Second Chance Christmas,” a symphonic story featuring a narrator and chorus, about a town that has forgotten the meaning of Christmas in the wake of a mining disaster.  “Second Chance Christmas” is written by Ric Reitz, the composer/lyricist who created “The Journey of Sir Douglas Fir,” which was performed by the Symphony in December 2005 before a sold-out audience.

Tickets for “Second Chance Christmas” will be sold starting in September.  Cost is $6 for children and $10 for adults in advance; $8 and $12, respectively, at the door.  Call the Box Office at 715-389-6534.

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