Idaho State Civic Symphony to Present Season Finale April 29

The Idaho State-Civic Symphony will present the grand finale of its 2021-2022 “New Beginnings” season on Friday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. with guest conductor Conner Gray Covington directing. 

The concert will feature guest soloist Eddie Ludema, ISU assistant professor of trumpet and music theory, who will be performing the dynamic "Trumpet Concerto" by Edward Gregson with the symphony. Covington returns to conduct this final concert of the season after serving as guest conductor for the first season concert in September. He has just completed a four-year tenure with the Utah Symphony as associate conductor and as principal conductor of the Deer Valley Music Festival. This season, he also has served as a guest conductor with the Utah Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic and North Carolina Symphony. As a member of the ISU faculty, Ludema comes to Pocatello with an extensive background in performance and teaching. A graduate of the University of Utah in trumpet performance, he received his master's and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from Indiana University and has studied in Germany. He is also a professional programmer and has designed several musical software programs and training applications. 

The remainder of the concert program will feature Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G Major, "Serenade" by William Grant Still, and "Death and Transfiguration" by Richard Strauss. 

“With the support of the orchestra musicians, ISU, and the loyal patrons and sponsors, the symphony has had a tremendously successful season. Being able to produce music at the highest level for both a live audience in the Jensen Grand Concert Hall and a virtual audience through free livestream concerts in the midst of coronavirus restrictions has been amazing and so rewarding,” Symphony Board President Ron Bolinger said. “In addition, the symphony board was able to bring more than 2,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students from School District 25 and other nearby school districts, private schools and home-schooled children back to the Stephens Performing Arts Center after a two-year coronavirus hiatus for the annual Link Up concerts with the symphony orchestra and the annual Children’s Concerts presented by our own Youth Orchestra,” Bolinger said. 

Next season, the Symphony will welcome new artistic director and conductor Dr. Nell Flanders. The 2022-2023 season will be announced by July 1.