By Katherine Buerke, staff writer ’26
LVC’s Symphony Orchestra will perform its fall concert this upcoming Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. in Lutz Recital Hall.
The concert will feature an array of classical and contemporary orchestral music including the world premiere of composer Daniel Chu’s “Dance of the Creatures.”
The concert will also feature the winners of the Concerto-Aria Competition, which took place last semester. Instrumentalists and vocalists performed pieces for a jury of adjudicators. John Mattiko, a junior music education and performance double major, was selected as one of the two winners along with senior music performance major Xavier Bates after months of preparation.
“I played a piece that I’ve been working on since freshman year,” Mattiko said. “I’ve been playing the trombone since I was in 4th grade, and I picked up the bass trombone four years ago.”
Mattiko will be performing the “Tuba Concerto” by Edward Gregson on bass trombone, which he said will appeal to fans of movie soundtracks.
“The piece sounds like it could be out of a Spielberg movie,” Mattiko said. “There are some really cool moments with mallet percussion. It gives John Williams vibes.”
The orchestra, led by conductor Dr. Johannes Dietrich, provides students with the opportunity to make music together in a professional setting and highlights repertoire from quality but lesser-known composers.
This semester’s concert will feature the world premiere of rising composer Daniel Chu’s “Dance of the Creatures,” which was one of the winners of the 2025 PMEA Composition Program, which highlights original compositions by elementary to college-age students in Pennsylvania. Chu’s original compositions have been featured in his school’s orchestra as well as at the 2023 PMEA awards.
Other numbers on the program include “Overture No. 2, Opus 24” by Louise Farrenc, and “Symphony No 5 in D Minor, Opus 25” by Niels Gade.
The concert is free to attend.
