Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Mixes Bluegrass, Orchestral With ‘Attention!’

It's not a conventional combination, a mandolin with an orchestra, but the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile will show the audience just how well the two go together with the WSO's upcoming concert "Attention!"

The show, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Capitol Theatre, brings Thiele - the four-time Grammy winner and former leader of bands Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers - to Wheeling to perform with the WSO in pieces both classical and contemporary, bringing a taste of Appalachian sound to the stage.

WSO Executive Director Sonja Thoms saw Thiele's "Attention!" show last year in Washington D.C. and was captivated by the performance. She feels the show will be a hit in Wheeling as well.

"Orchestral music really is for everyone," she said. "I'm really excited for people to see an instrument that maybe they've heard in totally different settings in front of an orchestra.

"And they're not just going to hear the mandolin," she continued. "Chris Thile, who wrote this piece that he's playing, is storytelling with words. He's got humor, he's got wit, he's got amazing chops on the mandoline. So I think it's going to be such a special experience that a lot of people won't forget."

Thile's "Attention!" is described as "a narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra." Pittsburgh-based choral group Voces Solis will join Thile and the WSO for this performance.

Along with Thile's concerto, the program will include Verdi's Overture to La Forza del Destino, performed during the WSO's inaugural season in 1929; contemporary Appalachian composer Brittany Green's "In the Beginning;" and "Three Dance Episodes" from Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town." Bernstein's piece was chosen to honor Wheeling native Everett Lee, a Black conductor who broke racial barriers in the 1950s and was a close collaborator with Bernstein.

The WSO Capitol Series is sponsored by WesBanco, while the Masterworks series is sponsored by Felton CPA. Additional support is provided by the Lea Ridenhour and Eriks Janelsins and Fans of Bluegrass.

WesBanco Upper Ohio Valley Market President David Klick said the bank felt it important to sponsor the Capitol Series not just to help present an unique melding of musical genres, but also to promote the strides Wheeling has made in recent years.

"We've been involved with the Symphony as a premier sponsor for some time," he said. "But when you see the renaissance (of Wheeling) ... we decided to be a little bit more of a sponsor. We know the out-of-towners this brings in and we want more eyes to see the resurgence we're talking about."

Tickets for the performance can be purchased online at wheelingsymphony.com, by phone at 304-232-6191, via email at boxoffice@wheelingsymphony.com, or in person at the box office, located at 1025 Main Street, Suite 811, in Wheeling.