Kenai Peninsula Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Kenai Peninsula Orchestra is an orchestra based on the Kenai Peninsula
of Alaska
. Their headquarters is at 315 W. Pioneer Avenue in Homer
, but the organization operates throughout the peninsula. The orchestra was founded in 1983, as a regional alternative to the more localized Kenai Symphony Orchestra which struggled to find enough participants in the Kenai
area to fill its ranks. Originally the orchestra only performed during the summer season. In 1998 the summer events were organized into a festival, and additional concerts were scheduled around the Peninsula during the remaining months of the year. Most rehearsals are held in Ninilchik, which is approximately halfway between the Kenai/Soldotna area and Homer, the largest population centers on the Peninsula. In addition to full-on orchestral concerts, the orchestra also presents smaller concerts featuring string quartets, brass quartets and soloists The Orchestra is a non-profit organization and receives funding from individuals, as well as large group donors such as ConocoPhillips Alaska
and the National Endowment for the Arts
.
that is accessible only by boat. Prices range from free for the lunch concerts to over $100 per person for the Tutka Bay concert.
was appointed the orchestra's composer-in-residence and KPO received a grant to finance creation of a new work written specifically for them. In 2007 KPO premiered the three movement
symphony entitled "An Alaskan Symphony".
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Their headquarters is at 315 W. Pioneer Avenue in Homer
Homer, Alaska
Homer is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road"...
, but the organization operates throughout the peninsula. The orchestra was founded in 1983, as a regional alternative to the more localized Kenai Symphony Orchestra which struggled to find enough participants in the Kenai
Kenai
-Places:* Kenai, Alaska, a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska* Kenai Peninsula, a large peninsula in south-central Alaska* Kenai River, a river on the Kenai Peninsula* Kenai Mountains, a mountain range in Alaska* Kenai Fjords National Park...
area to fill its ranks. Originally the orchestra only performed during the summer season. In 1998 the summer events were organized into a festival, and additional concerts were scheduled around the Peninsula during the remaining months of the year. Most rehearsals are held in Ninilchik, which is approximately halfway between the Kenai/Soldotna area and Homer, the largest population centers on the Peninsula. In addition to full-on orchestral concerts, the orchestra also presents smaller concerts featuring string quartets, brass quartets and soloists The Orchestra is a non-profit organization and receives funding from individuals, as well as large group donors such as ConocoPhillips Alaska
ConocoPhillips Alaska
ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. is a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, with its headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska. The company has major lease holdings on the North Slope and is Alaska's largest producer of oil and gas, employing about 1,000 persons....
and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
Summer music festival
KPO is known for its Summer Music Festival, which is ongoing for several weeks in July and August. Various acts perform at a variety of locations, including lunch concerts at restaurants. Guest players from around the country join KPO members, spreading the festival out over the various settlements on the Peninsula. Guests have included members of other orchestras, soloists, or entire groups such as string quartets. The festival culminates with the "Champagne, Chocolate and Chopin A La Tutka" gala concert at a remote lodge in Tutka Bay, a small arm of Kachemak BayKachemak Bay
Kachemak Bay is a 64-km-long arm of Cook Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. The communities of Homer, Halibut Cove, Seldovia, Nanwalek, Port Graham, and Kachemak City are on the bay as well as three Old Believer settlements in the Fox River...
that is accessible only by boat. Prices range from free for the lunch concerts to over $100 per person for the Tutka Bay concert.
Premieres
In 2005 Adrienne AlbertAdrienne Albert
Adrienne Albert is an American composer living and working in Santa Monica, California. Although relatively new to composition, Albert is established in the field with a recent NEA grant for a “symphony” about Homer, Alaska, now complete, and various other commissions, artist in residencies, and...
was appointed the orchestra's composer-in-residence and KPO received a grant to finance creation of a new work written specifically for them. In 2007 KPO premiered the three movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
symphony entitled "An Alaskan Symphony".