The Columbus Symphony will welcome patrons back to its seventh annual Russian Winter Festival beginning Jan. 7-8. Credit: Courtesy of Randall Schieber
The beginning of a new year signals the return of the Columbus Symphony’s annual Russian Winter Festival.
The Columbus Symphony will kick off its annual event with “ Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ ” Friday and Saturday at the Ohio Theatre, complete with Igor Stravinsky’s composition and “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m., and all audience members will be required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from up to 72 hours prior.
The second facet of the festival, “Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff,” will take place Jan. 21-23.
Daniel Walshaw, vice president of operations and artistic planning for the Columbus Symphony, said whether familiar with classical music or not, the Russian Winter Festival events are some of the biggest and most popular concerts for the symphony.
“You are going to hear some familiar music in any of these Russian Winter Festival concerts, and it’s a really easy doorway to walk into to get comfortable with the orchestra,” Walshaw said.
For those living in or around Columbus, the concerts offer a way to get to know the city a little bit better, Walshaw said.
“It’s coming downtown and experiencing a concert in the Ohio Theatre, and I think it’s a meaningful cultural experience that’s fun and exciting,” Walshaw said, “It’s a nice way to come and experience your city and experience the art and culture.”
Brian Mangrum, principal horn for the Columbus Symphony, said he grew up in a musical household, as both of his parents were professional musicians. Mangrum said he played violin until he was 12, but switched to the french horn because of his music camp teacher.
“I had a music camp teacher who was a french horn player and he let me try his horn one day, and I like to tell people that it was kind of like that scene in ‘Harry Potter’ when he gets the right wand,” Mangrum said.
Mangrum said one of his favorite things about performing with the Columbus Symphony is that even though it can feel tedious on his worst days, work feels like fun on the good days.
“On a really bad day, it feels like I have a job,” Mangrum said. “On a good day, it’s like I’m just going and I’m playing music, and it’s pretty cool.”
Walshaw said the Columbus Symphony features a College Club option, which allows students to get a $25 annual membership that includes the option to attend one or all Masterwork concerts and post-concert events. He said there is no better deal in the country when it comes to symphony tickets offered to college students.
“I lived in the Detroit area, I have lived in Washington, D.C., and this can’t be beat,” Walshaw said. “You get to experience a live orchestra in a beautiful concert hall in the city that you live in, and that’s a very valuable experience.”
Tickets for the Russian Winter Festival start at $10 and are available on the Columbus Symphony’s website, along with further information about the COVID-19 regulations.
