Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk to find out more about the selected music selection with WVS’ Artistic Director, Lance Inouye. Season tickets will be available for purchase in August.
Ticket Prices
Youth 0-17 free
Adults 18-65 $20
Seniors 65+ $18
WVS’ Youth Passport Program: One adult accompanying a youth (17 and under) can receive a free ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online.)
WVS’ Arts for All Program: Adults with an Oregon Trail SNAP card can receive a $5 ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online.)
2024-2025 Concert Dates
Saturday, October 12, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 13, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 23, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 24, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 8, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 9, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 12, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 13, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 7. 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 8, 4:00 p.m.
Willamette Valley Symphony is excited to present the winners of our 2024 Student Concerto Competition, who will play a concerto movement with the symphony. Additionally, the winners of our Student Composition competition will have the opportunity to have their work played by the symphony. This concert will also feature Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk. Doors open one hour before the concert.
Thanks to our donors and community grants, WVS offers these ticket programs:
WVS’ Youth Passport Program: One adult accompanying a youth (17 and under) can receive a free ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
Come enjoy this lively concert full of music made for dancing. The symphony will be playing Westside story Symphonic Dance by Leonard Bernstein, Danse Bacchanale by Camille Saint-Saëns, and Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk. Doors open one hour before the concert.
Thanks to our donors and community grants, WVS offers these ticket programs:
WVS’ Youth Passport Program: One adult accompanying a youth (17 and under) can receive a free ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
WVS’ Arts for All Program: adults with an Oregon Trail SNAP card can receive a $5 ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
Willamette Valley Symphony will feature soloist Ken Saul playing Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. The Symphony will also be performing Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness’ Symphony no. 2 Mysterious Mountain and Ludwig Van Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony no. 6. Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk. Doors open one hour before the concert.
Featured Soloist Ken Saul
Ken Saul, principal trumpet with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony and the Willamette Valley Symphony, received the Bachelor of Music in Performance from San Francisco State University where he studied with Joseph Alessi, Sr. He continued his music studies in composition at SF State and at the Juilliard School. Ken also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Management. Ken is now a consultant to the music industry for musical instrument lubricants and care accessories and is a private trumpet instructor.
Ken is a former instructor of trumpet at OSU and gives frequent clinics on brass playing. He has soloed with the OSU Wind Ensemble, the Willamette Valley Symphony, the Corvallis Community Band, and the Corvallis-OSU Symphony. He is the founder of the Willamette River Chamber Trio (trumpet/flugelhorn, violin/viola, and piano). When not practicing or performing, Ken enjoys gardening, travel, and long walks.
Thanks to our donors and community grants, WVS offers these ticket programs:
WVS’ Youth Passport Program: One adult accompanying a youth (17 and under) can receive a free ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
WVS’ Arts for All Program: adults with an Oregon Trail SNAP card can receive a $5 ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
Saturday, June 7, 2025, 7:00 – 9:30 pm, Pre-concert Talk 6:15 pm, Albany Performing Arts Center
For Willamette Valley Symphony’s final concert, they will play William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony and local composer Freddy Vilches’ African/Cuban Symphony. Come 45 minutes early for a pre-concert talk. Doors open one hour before the concert.
Featured Composer Freddy Vilches
Freddy Vilches is a composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator based in Portland, OR. Originally from Santiago, Chile, Freddy has performed extensively throughout the US and Latin America. He has recorded and performed with several Latin bands in the Northwest, and performs regularly with his own Latin ensembles.His compositions have been featured by the Lewis & Clark Orchestra, the Reed College Orchestra, ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), Resonance Vocal Ensemble, and the Urubichá Orchestra in Bolivia, among others.
Freddy Vilches is working on several musical and interdisciplinary projects that seek to vindicate historically marginalized communities, and help establish cultural bridges among the people of Latin America and the US.
Freddy is an experienced teacher and workshop presenter, he holds a PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Oregon. He joined the Lewis & Clark faculty in September, 2006, and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures. He is an instructor of Latin American instruments (Charango, Venezuelan Cuatro, and Afro-Cuban Ensemble) at the Music Department.
Thanks to our donors and community grants, WVS offers these ticket programs:
WVS’ Youth Passport Program: One adult accompanying a youth (17 and under) can receive a free ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
WVS’ Arts for All Program: adults with an Oregon Trail SNAP card can receive a $5 ticket at the door. (These tickets cannot be purchased online)
Student Concerto Competition Winners
Bastian Sorenson – French Horn, Morceau De Concert by C. Saint Seans
Bastian Sorenson (French Horn) is a driven performer who is at home on the stage. A senior at Crescent Valley High School, Bastian is a Drum Major for the marching band. He has performed with numerous ensembles, including the Corvallis Youth Symphony, the Young Musicians and Artists summer band and orchestra camp, and the All-State Wind Ensemble. This summer, he toured Spain and Portugal with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. When he’s not playing the horn, he’s likely to be found singing, dancing, acting, or doing all three at once in one of CSDTheaters’ yearly musicals at Corvallis High School. Bastian is also recognized nationally for his singing by the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Bethany Christensen – Violin, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, 1st Movement
Bethany Christensen is a senior at Corvallis High School. She began playing the violin at the age of five, and has studied with an array of teachers, of which most recently is Jessica Lambert for the past four years. She has played in a variety of ensemble groups, including OMEA All-State and All-Northwest Symphonies; the Corvallis Youth Symphony, where she currently serves as Concertmaster; her school’s Honors Camerata Orchestra; and group ensembles, such as trios and quintets, that served as Corvallis High School’s representatives for competitions. Bethany has also competed in various contests including ASTA’s Solo Competition; OMTA’s Ensemble Festival, where she placed first; OMEA’s High School Solo Competition, where she ranked second at districts and tenth at state; and OMEA’s High School Ensemble Competition, where her ensemble placed third at state.
Jason Han – Cello, Lalo Cello Concerto in D minor 1st Movement
Jason Han is a freshman at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. He has been playing the cello for nine years and served as a principal in the Willamette Valley Junior Honor Symphony (2021-23) and is currently in the Corvallis Youth Symphony. An accomplished soloist, Jason won first place in the American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition and first prize in the New York Laureate International Music Competition. He received second place at the Oregon Mozart Players Competition and earned a Silver medal in the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition. In addition, he has won at several Oregon Music Teacher Association festivals and has performed as a soloist with Salem Philharmonia Orchestra.
Student Composition Competition Winners
Flash Inouye – Look At All the Stars
Ten year old Flash Inouye is a musician, athlete, and adventurer. Flash wrote his first composition at age 8 and has been composing avidly ever since. He plays the cello, is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, the Young Composers Project, and recently debuted in the cello section of the Lewis and Clark Orchestra. Flash also plays soccer and basketball and practices Taekwondo. He couldn’t be more excited about the world premiere of his original composition “Look at all the Stars.”
Abe Tsai, Composer – La Esperanza
Abe’s love of sharing music began as a boy, performing violin for his great-grandmother. Along his musical journey, he has played in numerous honor groups, including the OMEA All-State Orchestra and NaFME All-Northwest Symphony Orchestra. He has competed at the state level for both violin and oboe, and recently performed Vieuxtemps’ 4th violin concerto as the winner of Corvallis Youth Symphony’s Young Soloists Competition. Abe has also appeared as a featured artist on All Classical Radio’s “On Deck With Young Musicians.” Currently, he serves as assistant concertmaster of CYS and concertmaster of the Corvallis Camerata Orchestra. As long as he’s been playing violin, Abe has also been writing melodies. He began his formal training in composition as a fellow in the Newport Youth Symphony Young Composers Symposium, and has had the honor of playing his pieces alongside the Camerata Orchestra, the Newport Symphony festival, and most recently, at the OSU PRaX Soundbox 7 International Music Festival.
