Gateway Chamber Orchestra showcases string section with October 27th concert

Clarksville, TN – Are you familiar with Clarksville’s Gateway Chamber Orchestra? For the last five years, the ensemble – made up of Austin Peay State University music faculty and other professional musicians – has hosted acclaimed performances of classical masterworks and garnered serious Grammy consideration with their two recorded albums.

Still, the orchestra sometimes feels like a well-kept secret. That’s why they’ve kicked off the “Get to know the GCO” campaign this year, with the intention of showcasing the different components of this incredibly talented ensemble.

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Gateway Chamber Orchestra brings powerful Mahler work to Middle Tennessee May 5th-6th

Clarksville, TN – In 1907, the great Austrian composer Gustav Mahler had a bad year. First, he lost his job as director of the Vienna State Opera. Then, in July, his young daughter Maria died after a brief illness. While grieving this loss, Mahler was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition.

In the months that followed, the composer found solace in a book of Chinese Tang Dynasty poetry titled “The Chinese Flute.” As he read the works, translated into German, a composition slowly took shape in his head.

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Gateway Chamber Orchestra Begins New Season with New Identity

Clarksville, TN – The Gateway Chamber Orchestra, which kicks off its third subscription season at 7:30pm on August 30th, can’t be accused of lacking ambition.

“Our goal is to be one of the world’s great chamber orchestras,” Dr. Gregory Wolynec, the ensemble’s conductor, said recently. “There is a great symphony orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, 45 minutes down the road. We offer something different. The energy and spirit of this group has been just magical.”

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Misunderstood genius of composer Schumann explored at upcoming APSU concert

Clarksville, TN – In the late winter of 1854, German composer Robert Schumann entered an insane asylum, which abruptly ended his creative career. He died two years later, and critics often cited his late works as being erratic and incomprehensible.

“People think he went mad, therefore there’s no value in his later music and that it’s full of mistakes or lack of creative inspiration,” Ming Wang, assistant professor of music at Austin Peay State University, said. “I had the same opinion toward Schumann when I was a student.”

But about five years ago, under the influence of his music professors at Yale, Wang began an intensive study of the composer. Within a few years, his opinion drastically changed. [Read more]