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Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra debut flute concerto, announces upcoming season

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The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra is inviting guest flutist Demarre McGill to debut a new flute concerto as one of the last performances of the season.

McGill, a principal flutist in the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, will join the ICO for a performance at the Schrott Center for the Arts on April 15. The performance is one of two concerts rounding out the ICOā€™s 2022-23 season with ā€œBeethovenā€™s Fidelioā€ on May 13, said Matthew Kraemer, music director and principal conductor of the ICO.

Kraemer, who is beginning his eighth season with the ICO, said the chamber orchestra is composed of 35 core musicians and holds seven contracted concerts each year in addition to education outreach and community concerts. The ICO also partners with community groups and brings in guest singers and musicians ā€” such as McGill ā€” for special performances, Kraemer said.

ā€œIt certainly elevates everybodyā€™s performance, including my own, to be able to work with artists of the caliber of Demarre, whoā€™s just indefatigable,ā€ Kraemer said. ā€œItā€™s just a real inspiration, musically and personally, for all of us.ā€

McGill, who is also an associate professor of flute at University of Cincinnati, said heā€™s been playing flute since he was seven years old. As the featured soloist of the evening, he will perform American composer Kevin Putsā€™ 2013 Flute Concerto ā€” marking his first time performing in Indianapolis and with the ICO.

Putsā€™ flute concerto is still a relatively new piece, but McGill said itā€™s exhilarating to perform and listen to. When it comes to classical music, however, McGill said audience members can be hesitant about hearing new compositions. Though he still appreciates older works ā€” compositions people have loved forever ā€” McGill is also excited to hear and play newer ones.

Flutist Demarre McGill of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
Demarre McGill (Photo provided)

ā€œThis is a work that I think is easy to really internalize on the first listen,ā€ McGill said. ā€œItā€™s a gorgeous work and thatā€™s the reason why Iā€™m happy to have played it two to three times before and to play it again.ā€

Traveling and performing with small orchestras around the country in addition to being a principal flutist with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and teaching at a university keeps McGill busy, but he said he loves doing everything he does because he knows heā€™s making a difference.

McGill said a lot of the work he does is to improve the climate of an industry thatā€™s ā€œway behind on the diversity front,ā€ because oftentimes professional organizations like orchestras fall behind when it comes to hiring musicians of diverse backgrounds.

However, McGill said he also loves being able to travel and share music not only with local audiences and students but with musicians as well. He said itā€™s easy and fun because the act of sharing music ā€œbonds you to the community.ā€

Though McGill is familiar with the flute concerto, this will be the first time the ICO will be performing the piece, and Kraemer said he couldnā€™t be happier to introduce their Indianapolis audiences to a piece of music that the ā€œink is still dryingā€ on.

ā€œItā€™s a very beautiful, very lyrical piece and we look forward to introducing it to audiences,ā€ Kraemer said. ā€œItā€™s not been in the repertoire because it hasnā€™t been in existence very long, but it is one of the great modern flute concertos.ā€

In addition to the Flute Concerto, Kraemer said the ICO will perform ā€œFalla ā€“ Three-Cornered Hat: Suite 1, ā€œAguila ā€“ SalĆ³n Buenos Aires, Op. 102ā€ and ā€œLigeti ā€“ Concerto Romanesc.ā€

ā€œThe variety of music thatā€™s available for a small orchestra ā€” for a chamber orchestra ā€“ as opposed to a large symphony orchestra ā€¦ our music is very intimate,ā€ Kraemer said. ā€œEvery musician on stage is basically a soloist, their parts are very exposed, and this spans roughly 350 years from music that has just been written to music that goes all the way back to the early baroque period.ā€

Kraemer said the ICOā€™s 2023-24 season will kick off in October and is set to include two commissioned premiers, ā€œAarondiehl,ā€ Mary Lou Williamsā€™ ā€œZodiacs Suite,ā€ collaborations with Dance Kaleidoscope and International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

The ICOā€™s upcoming concert with Demarre McGill will take place April 15 at the Schrott Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $35 and can be purchased at icomusic.org. More information about the ICOā€™s upcoming season can be found on the website, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.

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