Hannibal Area String Orchestra to present ‘Pure Imagination’ concert Saturday at Roland Fine Arts Center

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Hannibal Area String Orchestra will present its annual spring concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, in the Roland Fine Arts Center, 2800 Palmyra Road.

The public is invited to attend. Admission is free, but a free-will offering will be taken to help cover the cost of music and other expenses.

The orchestra offers a selection of songs that span many decades.

The Beginning Strings will play the majestic and heroic “Starfleet“ by Richard Meyer, followed by “Remember Me” from Coco, by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the famous ballad with a mariachi flair. “Blue Ridge Run” by Alan Lee Silva will set you on a spirited ride through the American countryside. This work contains active rhythmic interest and flowing melodic figures, completed by lush, open Americana harmonies.

The Intermediate Strings start with “Three Little Dances” (for string orchestra) based on three piano etudes that evoke Afro-American folk songs by Florence B. Price, the first African American female composer to have her work played by a professional symphony orchestra. That will be followed by “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, a rock piece full of energy.

Next will be the score that still captivates the children in all of us, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” by Bricusse and Newly/arr. Robert Longfield will include “Pure Imagination,” the “Oompa Loompa Song” and “Candy Man.”

The Advanced Strings will perform “Carnival of the Animals,” Camille Saint-Saens’s comical look at animals of all kinds in 14 short movements. The orchestra will feature Alyssa Pyne and Bonnie Campbell on two pianos.

Artwork from local student artists in grades K-12 will be projected during the performance.

The organization is made up of three groups: Beginning String, Intermediate String and Advanced String. All are directed by Katie Schisler, with John Ferguson as assistant director. The string orchestra has about 45 members, including piano and percussion on some pieces.

For more information, contact Schisler at 573-501-7654 or hannibalstrings@gmail.com. Ferguson can be contacted at 573-406-9971 or jd.ferguson@charter.net.