Butler native to solo at opening
BUTLER TWP — The Butler County Symphony Orchestra will open its 60th anniversary season with Butler native Bill Purvis as the French horn soloist.
Purvis first played with the orchestra as a high school student in 1962. In 1965, he was the featured soloist when he played Richard Strauss' concerto for French horn. He will repeat that selection in the season-opening concert on Oct. 11.
He also will conduct George Frederick Handel's "Water Music Suite."
As a professional musician, Bill Purvis appeared as soloist with the orchestra in 1982, 1988 and 1999. He is a member of several ensembles, including the New York Woodwind Quintet, the Orchestra of St. Luke, the Yale Brass Trio, and the Triton Horn Trio. He also has appeared as horn soloist with many groups both in the United States and abroad.
He has recorded extensively and is particularly devoted to new music. He is on the faculty of the Yale School of Music, the Juilliard School, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Also featured in the concert will be a composition by trumpet player Drew Fennell, named "Composer of the Year" by the Butler orchestra.
A 1994 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Fennell is a member of the River City Brass Band. He has composed and arranged more than 100 original works, many of which have been recorded and published. He has been a trumpet soloist locally and internationally.
The orchestra will play his "Fanfare and Theme" at the concert.
Under the direction of Elisabeth Heath Charles, the orchestra also will perform "Der Freischutz" overture by Carl Maria von Weber and "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin as arranged by Robert Russell Bennett.
