Cache Chamber Orchestra Dedicates Year End Concert to Alice Stokes

The Cache Chamber Orchestra, the all-volunteer community orchestra under the direction of Robert Frost, will dedicate its spring concert to Alice Stokes, a long-time member of the group and a loyal supporter.

The spring concert is Sunday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the Utah State University campus (approximately 1110 E. 610 North). The concert is free and open to all.

 

“We are pleased to dedicate this concert to Alice Stokes,” Frost said. “She was a member of this organization for many years but has not performed with us for several years. She is a wonderful, supporting person with a sparkling personality. We are pleased to honor her.”

 

Stokes, along with her late husband, Allen, provided an endowment for the Cache Chamber Orchestra that has allowed it to purchase music and meet other ongoing expenses as needed, Frost said.

 

“This endowment has allowed the organization to function efficiently,” Frost said. “It has been great.”

 

Stokes will be recognized at the concert. When asked what selections she might request, she responded with “something about spring,” a request many would echo. Frost and the orchestra will perform the first movement of Schumann’s “Symphony No. 1,” subtitled “Spring.”

 

The evening’s program includes several guest soloists, including Logan High School student Konlin Shen, who was selected following a recent local competition at the American String Teacher Solo festival. He will perform “Zigeunerweisen” by Sarasate.

 

“Konlin is playing a really special piece,” Frost said. “This is a fantasy — a gypsy fantasy. It has a number of special violin techniques — fancy things with the bow and much more. This is a great piece, and it takes an accomplished violinist to perform it.”

 

Shen is 15-years-old and studies violin with Mark Emile at USU.

 

Also featured in a solo capacity at the concert is the orchestra’s brass section. The concert opens with a pieced titled “Fanfare” by Paul Dukas. It is a fanfare for brass choir.

 

“This is a fine opportunity to show off our brass players,” Frost said. “We’ve got some really wonderful players, and that allows us to do this piece and put them in the spotlight.”

 

The program will be complemented with a number of other works, including the overture from the comic opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor” by Otto Nicolai.

 

“This is a delightful overture and the music is light and fun to play,” Frost said.

 

Approximately 60 musicians have performed with the Cache Chamber Orchestra this season. The group meets once a week for rehearsal and provides three concerts a season. The group is sponsored by the department of music at Utah State University.

 

Contact: Robert Frost (435) 563-5090
Writer: Patrick Williams (435) 797-1354