EVERETT — The Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Paul-Elliott Cobbs, will play a matinee of Mozart on Sunday.
“The genius of Mozart is unsurpassed,” Cobbs said. “The transparency of his music makes it easy to learn, but its intricacy requires great faculty to perform convincingly.
“When I was a kid, I thought Mozart was for wimps. The older I got, the more I understood why he was my mother’s favorite composer.”
“That Magnificent Mozart!” is the third concert of the orchestra’s current season.
It opens with the Overture to the “Magic Flute,” one of Mozart’s best-known works, having been used in movies such as “Face/Off,” “Amadeus,” “Miss Congeniality” and “The Rocketeer.”
Soloist for the concert is Shannon Spiciatti, a faculty member at the University of Washington and Pacific Lutheran University schools of music.
“Shannon is delightful,” Cobbs said.
She will play Mozart’s Concerto for Oboe in C Major, a virtuosic work that requires great proficiency and skill, Cobbs said.
The program finishes with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39.
This is the Philharmonic’s fifth season of five concerts each year. The orchestra is operating in the black and plans to be around for a long time, Cobbs said.
“We have the right board of directors and the right musicians and our only goal to play good music for the community,” he said.
The longtime core of the orchestra has welcomed new members in their 20s and 30s into the group, Cobbs said.
“I like to watch that intergenerational interaction. They help each other,” he said. “I am interested in diversity of all sorts in this orchestra.”
Cobbs said his desire is that people in Snohomish County consider local orchestra concerts before heading off to Seattle.
“You pay as much for parking in Seattle as would a concert ticket in Everett,” he said. “We form relationships with our audience members and they feel a part of what we do. People bring their children and we begin to build our audiences of the future.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
If you go
Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, 3 p.m. Feb. 8, First Presbyterian Church, 2936 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Doors open at 2:15 p.m. for festival seating.
Tickets: $25 general and $20 for seniors and students, are available at the door, online at www.everettphil.org or by calling 206-270-9729.
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