WEST BARNSTABLE, MA—October 22, 2024
Cape Symphony Music Director Candidate Alyssa Wang will conduct; Martina Filjak is guest pianist
The Cape Symphony Orchestra will present the second concert of its 2024/25 Masterpiece series on November 16 & 17 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center. “Fantastique,” featuring works by Jessica Meyer, Edvard Grieg, and Hector Berlioz, will be conducted by Alyssa Wang. Internationally acclaimed pianist Martina Filjak will play Grieg’s Piano Concerto.
This season’s Masterpiece performances will each be led by a candidate for the Music Director position at Cape Symphony. The repertoire features warhorses from the Western canon chosen to showcase the talent and skill of these fine conductors. “Fantastique” will include Meyer’s Turbulent Flames, Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and the epic masterpiece for which the program is titled, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
Ms. Wang is a passionate and versatile conductor, violinist, and composer. A recipient of the 2023 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and the 2022 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award, she has explored diverse creative paths across several areas, with a focus on audience inclusivity and engagement. She is the Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra. “I consider Symphonie Fantastique one of the greatest orchestral masterpieces of all time,” she says. “To engage with this piece is to put yourself into an extreme mindset, to be carried away by your emotions, to push yourself right to the very precipice. To perform this piece, you have to let yourself be consumed by an uncontrollable mania. It takes a lot of dedication and effort from every single person on stage. And hopefully, as an audience member you'll be delighted, shocked, entertained, horrified, and everything in between!”
Croatian pianist Martina Filjak established herself internationally with her passionate, poetic playing and brilliant technical mastery of her instrument. The New York Times has noted the “brilliance, sensitivity and imagination of her playing” and the “resourcefulness of her technique and the naturalness of her musicality.” This will be Ms. Filjak’s Cape Symphony debut.
Cape Symphony welcomes audience involvement in its Music Director search. The public may observe Alyssa Wang in rehearsal with the Orchestra from 7:00 – 8:30 PM on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center. “Fantastique” ticketholders are invited to get to know her at a Q&A session led by Assistant Conductor Joe Marchio beginning one hour before each performance and will be encouraged to convey their thoughts through a survey to be emailed the following week.
“Fantastique” will be performed Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, November 17 at 3:00 PM at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street, Hyannis. For tickets, visit capesymphony.org, call the Cape Symphony Box Office at 508.362.1111, email
Media Contact:
Susan Sundermeyer, Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator
About Cape Symphony
At Cape Symphony, our mission is to Inspire Joy. We do this through outstanding entertainment and educational programs. The Cape Symphony Orchestra performs at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center in Hyannis. From popular hits to magnificent classics, the emphasis is always on beautiful music. “Cape Symphony Presents” programming brings world-class artists of a wide variety of genres to intimate venues across the Cape. Cape Symphony offers music education for all ages through private instrumental and voice lessons, group music classes, ensembles, dance instruction, and art classes at our West Barnstable and Falmouth campuses. Cape Symphony Preschool is acclaimed for its arts-infused curriculum and holistic approach to learning. Visit www.capesymphony.org for more information.
