Willmar Area Symphonic Orchestra to provide a horse-loving good time
Mar. 16—WILLMAR
— Music will soon be galloping across the air in Willmar. The Willmar Area Symphonic Orchestra will present "Equus," its spring concert, at 3 p.m. March 20 at the Willmar Education and Arts Center.
Equus means horse in Latin, and the concert will focus on that beloved animal. The orchestra, made up of musicians from across the area and led by music director Stephen Ramsey, will perform pieces inspired by the horse.
The concert will open with Franz von Suppe's "Light Cavalry Overture." The program also includes the "Gallop from William Tell" by Gioachino Rossini and "Tango Por una Cabaza" by Carlos Gardel. The arrangement of the "Tango" is by famed conductor and composer John Williams and includes a violin solo by Lisa Zeller. The concert includes a second piece by Williams, "War Horse: Dartmoor, 1912," from the Steven Spielberg directed film "War Horse," and the "Finale" to Symphony No. 8 by Antonin Dvorak.
Nickolai Podvin, associate conductor of the Willmar Area Symphonic Orchestra, will conduct the orchestra through Ludwig van Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" Movement 1.
In addition to the musical horses, there will be an actual horse on hand. The Erickson Acres Carriage Company, of Hutchinson, will be bringing Raven, a Percheron draft horse, along with a carriage. Before and after the concert there will be the opportunity for photos and a few pets. Concertgoers can also register to win an hour-long, horse-drawn Victorian carriage ride for two from Erickson Acres. The ride will go along the Luce Line State Trail.
Children ages 3 to 18 are invited to submit their own horse-themed art creations. They can be of any medium — photography, drawings, painting, sculptures, building blocks. The pieces can be dropped off at the table with balloons in the lobby of the Willmar Education and Arts Center between 2 and 2:50 p.m. prior to the concert. They will be displayed for the public during intermission and all will be entered into a drawing for a Mr. B's chocolate horse.
Before the concert begins, equine art by local artisans and photographers will be displayed on the big screen.
Doors open at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults, and children 18 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased at Whitney Music in Willmar, online at
and at the door. Masks will be required, and a livestream of the concert will be available. More information can be found on the orchestra's website at
.