NOI Philharmonic: Neely Conducts Price, Ravel & Wagner

David Neely, Music Director of Des Moines Metro Opera and Director of Orchestral Activities at the UMD School of Music, leads the NOI Philharmonic in a program of sensational orchestral repertoire featuring Maurice Ravel, Richard Wagner and Florence Price. Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso starts the program in high spirits, inspired by the “gracioso” spirit of Spanish comedy, a humorous and light-hearted character. The program continues with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Suite, a music drama inspired by the 16th century Master Singer’s Guild of Nuremberg. Often viewed as a manifesto of Wagner’s own musical and philosophical challenges, Die Mestersinger von Nürnberg tells the story of a young singer who must combat musical conservatism in order to win the annual song contest. Closing the performance is Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3, which contrasts traditional African-American and modernist elements against each other in a striking depiction of life for African Americans.