Sat, Aug. 16, 2025, 2 PM

West Ottawa Performing Arts Center (WOPAC)

3685 Butternut Drive, Holland, MI 49424 (best to use Google Maps, as Apple Maps is inaccurate for this location.)

HSO Our New Home Celebration – ATTENDANCE IS FREE

Sponsored by Ruth & David Crouch

Even if you forgot to RSVP, we will welcome you at this concert and open house!  Feel free to come anyway!

General Admission Seating – First Come, First Served

This family-friendly concert is part of HSO’s “Gift of Music” month! Please join us in celebrating our move into our new home at WOPAC. This is our way of treating our West Michigan audiences to an afternoon of sublime orchestral music.

Enjoy fresh-baked goods, candies, and snacks from Marlene Buller’s local bakery, Frosted Memories. A portion of each purchase will benefit HSO’s Education programs. Cash payment is preferred, but Venmo is also an option.

Johannes Muller-Stosch, Music Director & Conductor

Rebecca VanDeWalker, Principal Flute, Susan & Randall Miller Chair

PROKOFIEV    Peter & the Wolf

J.S. BACH    Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major*

MOZART    Flute Concerto in D Major*

HAYDN    Symphony No. 104 in D Major “London” *

*Only the first movement will be performed

This family-friendly concert begins with one of the most famous musical children’s folktales, Prokofiev’s Peter & the Wolf. Designed to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra, each character in the story is represented by a specific instrument, allowing listeners to easily identify them through the music. The story follows Peter, a young boy who disobeys his grandfather and ventures out into the meadow, encountering various animals and ultimately capturing the wolf. This charming 35-minute masterpiece is full of brilliant melodies that listeners will carry with them throughout the day. Families with young children may leave after this piece, should they not wish to stay for the more “classical” half of the concert.

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are among the most perfect examples of the Baroque concerto that we have today. Few works in the history of music can match their tireless invention, their colorful instrumentation, or the tremendous demands they make on performers. The Third Concerto, for nine solo strings, opens majestically, with the soloists grouped by instrument (the violins play one figure, the violas another, and the cellos a third), although there are moments of independence for each of the soloists. This first movement is a prime example of Bach’s genius and offers music of lighthearted warmth and melodic majesty.

Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 314, is a vibrant and engaging piece, originally written for oboe but later adapted for flute. The first movement is characterized by its bright disposition and virtuosic flute writing, which will give HSO principal flute and Susan and Randall Miller chair Rebecca VanDeWalker, the spotlight for rapid scales and trills, countered by witty and charming orchestral passages.

Mozart studied and admired Haydn, who is considered the father of the symphony and string quartet. His last group of symphonies were composed during his two trips to London in the 1790s. Number 104 is his last symphony and nicknamed the “London” symphony because it was Haydn’s farewell to the great city. From its triumphant grand opening to the brooding minor passages, the first movement is noted for its expressive range, including humor, irony, and emotional depth, exploring a wide range of human emotions beyond simple joy and sadness. The work is a great way for listeners to hear the many colors of the full orchestra and the exceptional skill of its players.

Click the RSVP button for tickets to this FREE event or call 616-796-6780.

RSVP Now

Program

 

Peter and the Wolf
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Michael Naess, narrator

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
     1. Allegro moderato

Flute Concerto in D Major, K. 314
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
      1. Allegro aperto

Rebecca VanDeWalker, flute

Symphony No. 104 in D Major, “London”
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
      1. Adagio - Allegro

 



Rebecca VanDeWalker, Flute

Artistry, connection, and collaboration are at the heart of flutist Rebecca VanDeWalker’s performance and teaching. She is the principal flutist with the Holland Symphony and has deep experience as a classical musician. 

She is frequently described as a beautiful and brilliant musician with depth of heart and vibrancy, possessing the ability to play “inside” the notes. Her mentor, Darlene Dugan, described her with these words: “Rebecca, like most musicians, is very sensitive, but hers is a special two-way sensitivity. She also connects with and responds to the sensitivity of those around her. This gives her a magnetism and charisma that communicates at a deep level in her performances, teaching, and relationships. She has a strong, positive, passionate character. In our WMFA orchestra, I frequently hear, 'Thanks for seating me next to Rebecca.' Our members really enjoy her personality and love learning from her phrasing, sense of direction, and beautiful tone. Sometimes after she has a solo, our orchestra members are so charmed that they forget to play (which causes my baton no small anxiety!) She is a model for my hope that competition, co-operation, and compassion can co-exist.” 

Rebecca has performed with various orchestras and ensembles, including the Boston Philharmonic, New England Chamber Orchestra, New Life Symphony, St. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra, Holland Chamber Orchestra, Muskegon Chamber Choir Orchestra, Grand Rapids Civic Theater Orchestra, Community Circle Theater, New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Symphony Orchestras, Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra, and Empire State Youth Orchestra. In addition to her solo performances, she has collaborated with colleagues from the Hope College Department of Music and participated in the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck, as well as faculty recitals on campus and other musical events throughout West Michigan and beyond. 

As a dedicated flute instructor, Rebecca’s mission is to empower her students with the skills and encouragement necessary to unlock their full potential, fostering beautiful tone, technical proficiency, stylistic expression, and kinesthetic awareness. She taught at Hope College from 1998 to 2006 and returned in the fall of 2014, rejoining the Department of Music in 2022. She has taught flute lessons at various institutions and in her flute studio throughout New York State, Massachusetts, and West Michigan. A colleague, Julie Sooy, described her as, "A superb teacher...Her students trust and respect her, and under her patient tutelage, excel in their playing abilities. They do well because they are consistently taught to listen, to truly create music, and to play with energy." A Hope College graduate who went on to receive her Masters in Music, described her experience with Rebecca as, "In my years of study with her, she put every ounce of energy into her teaching and professional flute career. In each lesson, she was genuinely concerned about my growth as a flutist and challenged me to take the next step...her excitement about music is contagious and very stimulating to be around." 

Exceptional teachers, including the renowned soloist Paula Robison and Boston Symphony flutists Lois Schaefer and Fenwick Smith at the New England Conservatory of Music, have guided Rebecca's journey as a musician. Her early studies began with Janet Stockwell and Eleanor Barnes of the Albany Symphony. After NEC, Rebecca thrived under the mentorship of Darlene Dugan, a beloved educator and director of the West Michigan Flute Association (WMFA), as well as a former principal flutist of the Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Amarillo (TX) Symphonies. She further honed her craft with private lessons from Carnegie Mellon University professors Jeanne Baxtresser, former principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic, and Alberto Almarza. 

Since 1997, Rebecca has been actively involved with the West Michigan Flute Association, currently serving as its President. She frequently showcases her talents with the WMFA Flute Orchestra and Great Lakes Flutes at the annual conventions of the National Flute Association. 

Rebecca VanDeWalker lives a fulfilling life with her husband of 31 years, Kent, and their three beautiful children, each of whom has been active in worship arts and world missions. Her interests include the art of floral arranging and design, traveling, and exploring the visual arts.

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