News Release: Dust + Ions

NEWS RELEASE
Wichita Symphony Orchestra
January 28, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WICHITA SYMPHONY PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE
Alex Wakim joins the Wichita Symphony for Second Hometown Premiere

Wichita, KS – The Century II Concert Hall will come to life with world-class and homegrown talent Sunday, February 23 at 3:00 PM. The Wichita Symphony is honored to present the world premiere of Dust and Ions: Orchestral Suite by Wichita-born composer Alex Wakim, alongside classical gems by Mozart and Brahms, in what promises to be an unforgettable concert experience.

What began as a concept album in 2020 premiered as an immersive concert experience at Wichita Center for the Arts in 2021. On this concert, the Wichita Symphony presents the next iteration of Dust and Ions, the world premiere Orchestral Suite. Alex Wakim, a Wichita native and rising star in the contemporary classical world, draws from his deep roots in Lebanon. Dust and Ions is “an anthem for beauty that crosses skies, transcends borders, pandemics, wars, and the limits of our tiny lives,” according to poet Yara Zgheib who worked on the original immersive concert experience with Wakim.

“In our fast-paced lives, we rarely take a moment to relish in the beauty of the natural world, from the galactic to the microscopic. Dust + Ions encourages this reflection,” said composer Alex Wakim. “Begging us to take a step out of our own conundrums and to consider that The Fireflies in Kansas are as Big as the Stars.”

Following Wakim’s stunning composition, the Symphony welcomes Jeb Wallace, Associate Professor of Horn at Wichita State University and the WSO’s own Principal Horn, to perform Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat Major, K. 495. This elegant and virtuosic masterpiece showcases the lyrical beauty and technical brilliance of the horn, and Wallace’s artistry will undoubtedly bring Mozart’s music to life with grace and passion.

The concert concludes with a thrilling rendition of Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25, orchestrated by the legendary Arnold Schoenberg. This vibrant and richly textured orchestration transforms Brahms’s chamber music masterpiece into a symphonic spectacle, complete with dazzling orchestral colors and dance-like energy. Arnold Schoenberg’s music is exclusively published by Belmont Music, run by one of the composer’s sons. The publishing house was recently lost in the Palisades Fire, destroying the entire catalog of scores and parts. As a result, the music currently on loan to the Wichita Symphony may be the only surviving physical parts to this historically significant arrangement.

Dust + Ions is presented by the Wichita Symphony in its 80th Anniversary Season on Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM at Century II Concert Hall. Tickets are available now with no fees only at WichitaSymphony.org or by calling (316) 267-7658. Adult tickets start at $30 and student tickets are only $10.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Contact: Nina Longhofer, Marketing Director
Phone: (316) 267-5259, ext. 112
Email: nlonghofer@wso.org

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