Eagles will soar and horns will trumpet during the Northern Orchestra's Hornucopia event Saturday at the Playhouse.
Violinist Rachel Eagles is the special guest performer during the concert while the orchestra accompanies guest soloists Keith Berg and Jane Houlden, who will perform on a variety of handmade instruments.
"Keith Berg, who lives in Dunster, is one of the foremost makers of horns in the world and he makes and plays historic horns, which are very different from what we have now," said Gordon Lucas, the Northern Orchestra's artistic director. "He'll be playing his handmade Baroque horns, and present some surprises, including playing Mozart on a garden hose! This may be the most interesting concert we have ever given."
The Northern Orchestra is the premier amateur teaching, learning and performing group in the region and during the concert audience members will hear how old-time instruments were played in Mozart's era, Lucas said.
"We haven't had an investigation into historical musical practices in town - the way an instrument used to be played and this is what you're going to hear. A French horn today bears no resemblance to the French horn played, say, in Mozart's time. Berg is a performance practice specialist, in other words, he plays music on the historic instruments the way they were played on in the days when the music was written," said Lucas. "Berg manufactures these instruments in exact, painstaking replica, and duplicates the performance techniques of the day."
The main goal for the Northern Orchestra is to get people out, listening to the music, Lucas said.
"We are an amateur orchestra, but it's a good one," he said. "We are a community orchestra and a teaching vehicle."
During the concert the audience will hear a variety of music including an Alphorn Serenade,;Dvorak's American Quartet, First Movement; Mozart's A Musical Joke; Allegro's Menuetto; and Svendsen's Romance for Violin and Orchestra.
Hornucopia is presented by the Northern Orchestra Saturday at the Prince George Playhouse at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday in Vanderhoof at the small auditorium at Nechako Valley secondary school at 2 p.m.
Tickets are at the door for $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students.
