Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony demystified

On Tuesday, March 11, at 4 p.m., The Albert Wisner Public Library will host a lecture titled “Trouble & Triumph in Beethoven’s Ninth,” featuring conductor Russell Ger.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony contains one of the most famous passages of music ever composed: the “Ode to Joy.” But what is a giant choir doing in the middle of a symphony? With Ger as your tour guide, you will come to understand what really makes this extraordinary work so beloved the world over.

Ger is an Australian conductor based in the United States. He is the winner of the Brian Stacey Memorial Trust Award for Emerging Australian Conductors, the Special Orchestra Prize in the Makris International Conducting Competition in Serbia, and was a finalist in the Sir Georg Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition. Ger’s repertoire spans orchestral, operatic, and choral music, which he has conducted across North America, Europe, and his home country. Since 2016, Ger has been music director of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he conducts six subscription series in addition to sold-out holiday and summer pops concerts.

The library is located at 1 McFarland Drive, Warwick. For more information, call 845-986-1047.