Cue the Hissing: Woodwind Quintet Has the Audience Sharing the Spotlight

It’s not that the Kenosha Symphony is short-handed, but audience participation will be needed to fill in some gaps at a concert this weekend.

The Symphony’s woodwind quintet will be performing at the Boys and Girls Club Saturday, Feb. 24th  at 1 p.m.

A highlight of the program will be the debut of a composition titled “Place of the Pike: Then and Now.” It’s a history of Kenosha set to music, written by Dallas-area music teacher and composer Haley Woodrow, who wrote the piece under a commission from the Kenosha Community Foundation. Woodrow made the connection in part through her participation in an annual music festival that's held at UW-Parkside.

Woodrow's  three-movement work focuses on the city’s automotive manufacturing history, and its economic rebirth.

The audience is part of the show. Woodrow tells WGTD that the audience will be asked to participate. "Music is defined as the organization of sound," she says. "And there are plenty of sounds that we can organize that the audience can actually make."

At various times through the piece, audience members will be cued to clap, snap their fingers, stomp their feet and make hissing sounds. "That's going to be a lot of fun, especially since (the concert) will be held at the Boys and Girls Club," Woodrow said.  

The short concert will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. Admission is free and it’s open to the public.

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