Las Cruces Symphony features Holst and Tchaikovsky

You can enjoy the music of Gustav Holst and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in upcoming Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra (LCSO) concerts.

The concerts, which will be held in New Mexico State University’s Atkinson Recital Hall, 1075 N. Horseshoe St. on campus, are

• Classics 3: “Space, the Final Frontier,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 18, and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 19. Featuring “The Planets,” which Holst composed 1914-16, and composer John Williams’ “Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra.”
• Classics 4: “Tchaikovsky,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 7. Compositions by Tchaikovsky to be performed will include “1812 Overture” and “Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36.”

Holst (1874-1934), an English composer, is best known for “The Planets,” which he composed 1914-16.

“The Planets” was a perfect choice for LCSO, as Las Cruces has “a lot of companies that deal with aerospace,” Symphony Director Ming Luke told the Bulletin. (Las Cruces was also the home of Clyde Tombaugh [1906-97], who discovered Pluto in 1930).

Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93), “is one of the greatest composers,” Luke said. There are “deep-felt emotions in his work,” Luke said, and the LCSO performance will “show all sides of Tchaikovsky.”

Luke, who succeeded Lonnie Klein as LCSO maestro, said he has found Las Cruces to be very supportive of the symphony.

“I am very excited about the future of the symphony,” Luke said.

In addition to LCSO, Luke is music director for the Merced Symphony in California and the Nashville Ballet and is principal guest conductor for the San Francisco Ballet. He has soloed as a pianist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and San Francisco Ballet.

Luke holds a master of fine arts degree in conducting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a bachelor of music in music education and piano pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey.

LCSO concert tickets are available online at $42.62, $47.77 and $52.92, depending on where you sit in Atkinson Recital Hall. To buy tickets online, visit https://lascrucessymphony.com/, click on “2022-2023 Season Concert Details and Tickets Here” and click on the date of the performance you wish to attend. Tickets are also available at the door before each concert.

Contact LCSO at 575-646-3709 and info@lascrucessymphony.org.

Visit https://lascrucessymphony.com/ and www.mingluke.com.