TICKETS
$10 / $20 / $30 / $50
Student Tickets (18+ with ID): FREE
Children 17 and under: FREE
* Children’s and Student tickets available over the phone or at the box office day of show with ID*
Box Office: 330-452-2094
boxoffice@cantonsymphony.org
DESCRIPTION
This concert is dedicated to the memory of William P. Blair, III.
Canton organist, Heather Cooper, returns by popular demand! Last seen on our stage in 2020, Heather returns to perform several triumphant pieces written for organ and orchestra. The traditional organ music of Bach, Widor, and Strauss will be heard alongside selections from living composers Michael Daugherty and Rick Robinson.
PROGRAM
Feierlicher Einzug (Festival Procession)…………………Richard Strauss/arr. Gerhardt Zimmermann
Once Upon a Castle……………………………………………………..Michael Daugherty
Toccata from Symphony No. 5………………………………….Charles-Marie Widor/arr. Gerhardt Zimmermann
Concerto for Organ in A Minor, BWV 593………………..Johann Sebastian Bach
“Nimrod” from Enigma Variations, Op. 36……………….Edward Elgar*
Chaccone for Interesting Times………………………………..Rick Robinson
Hunnenschlacht (Battle of the Huns)……………………….Franz Liszt
*Musical tribute to William P. Blair, III.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Heather Cooper is active as a church musician, educator, and performer. She currently serves as Director of Music & Organist at Christ Presbyterian Church in Canton, where her responsibilities include providing music for worship, leading the handbell and children’s choirs, and organizing the annual concert series. Heather frequently performs as keyboardist with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. In 2020, she performed Guilmant’s Symphony No. 1 in D minor for Organ and Orchestra, as well as the beloved “Organ” Symphony No. 3 of Camille Saint-Saëns. She previously served as accompanist for the CSO Chorus for several years.
Heather is Principal Conductor for Summit Choral Society, where she directs the flagship children’s ensemble, Performance Choir. The group has performed locally with the Canton Symphony and Akron Symphony, and nationally at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Grand Ole Opry. The choir was invited to perform at the national conference of the Organization of American Kodály Educators in 2019, as well as singing at the Ohio Choral Directors Conference in 2017. Heather spent sixteen years as an elementary and middle school music teacher in both public and private settings. For the Spring 2021 semester, she served as Interim Director of Choral Activities at Malone University.
Heather holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Choral Music Education from the University of South Carolina. Her Master of Music degree is in Music Education from Capital University.
This concert is dedicated to the memory of William P. Blair, III.
Mr. Blair was the founding President of the Ohio Foundation of the Arts, Inc., a statewide arts service corporation; and is a past President and Executive Committee Member of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, an association he has maintained for over 45 years.
Mr. Blair is directly responsible for arts organizations existing in the capacity that they do statewide. His efforts have supported the enrichment of countless lives through art and music, for both those who receive and those who create it. He spent his entire life working to prove that access to the arts is a basic human right.
Bill’s favorite piece, Nimrod by Edward Elgar, will be performed.
SPONSORS
Robert Leibensperger - Presenting Sponsor
William P. Blair, III - Co-sponsor
Roger E. and Janet B. Baker Charitable Fund - Co-sponsor