The walls of the McComas Hall Theatre will be resounding with orchestral fervor tonight when Camerata Nordica performs at 7:30 as part of the MSU Lyceum Series.
Camerata Nordica is one of Sweden’s leading chamber orchestras, based in the county of Kalmar and located by the Baltic Sea. The group, which formed in 1974 and got its name from the fact that it is a camerata, or orchestra without a conductor, has traveled extensively around the world over the years, including stops in the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, the Baltic peninsula, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Camerata Nordica has recorded 12 CDs since 1993 and has been chosen to represent Sweden abroad, thanks to its high musical standards. The group has played with flutist Sir James Galway, soprano Barbara Bonney, mezzo soprano and jazz vocalist Barbara Hendricks and Barry Tuckwell, recognized as the most recorded horn player in the world, among other distinguished artists, according to the group’s Web site.
Camerata Nordica is currently on a tour of the United States with the performance at MSU being the only one in Mississippi, and besides Florida, the only one in the South. Maridith Geuder, interim director of University Relations, said the group is known throughout the world, and she is honored to have them perform at MSU.
“This highly acclaimed group will provide a first-class program of classical music that ranges from Mozart to Beethoven to Vivaldi to some rarely played Swedish music,” Geuder said. “It is an opportunity to experience some outstanding classical literature played by outstanding international musicians.”
Along with Geuder, the Lyceum Series’s Kell Smith and professor and head of music education Michael Brown feel Camerata Nordica is a very different group than what is normally in Starkville, but that diversity is what makes the performance a special one.
Smith said that Camereta Nordica plays a type of music that is not normally heard in Starkville. He added that such a high quality group was a wonderful experience for locals to experience.
“We have a symphony here in Starkville, but they don’t play often,” Brown said. “We wanted a variety of musical and dramatic events that weren’t readily available or prevalent in Starkville right now. Camerata Nordica is very good, and they bring much diversity to our campus and the usual local music scene.”
“Over the years, the Lyceum Series has traditionally brought programs of classical music to campus,” Geuder said. “Camerata Nordica continues the tradition, and I think audiences will enjoy this group’s interpretations of the classics. The fact that Camerata Nordica has produced 12 CD recordings since ’93 speaks to their popularity and audience appeal.”
The Lyceum Series also believes that the appeal of Camerata Nordica will seep into the minds of the audience, and those that were skeptical before, will hopefully change their opinion on this type of music.
“I think everyone will enjoy it if they will give it a chance,” Brown said. “We hope to broaden people’s opinions of music by enabling them to hear a group that they would not normally have the opportunity to hear live,” Smith said.
“Published reviews of the group’s performances call them ‘magnetic,’ ‘imaginative’ and ‘superb,'” Geuder said. “I think those attending will have a memorable musical experience.”
Tickets will be available at the door and are $15 for adults; $13, senior citizens, by request; and $11 for children 3 to 12 years old. MSU students are admitted free with a valid MSU ID. For more information on Camerata Nordica, go to www.camerata.se. For more information on the Lyceum Series, call 325-4201.