Emporia State’s Chamber Orchestra performed “Autumn Landscapes” which was a performance of several works by the composers Jeff Manookian, Eric Whitacre, Gustav Mahler and Edvard Grieg, last Thursday.

“The Eric Whitacre (piece) invokes a reflective mood. It’s a beautiful piece that makes you want to sit with cup of hot chocolate,” said Ramiro Miranda, instructor of music. “The Manookian is a collection of folk music from Argentina that really captures the creative, spicy side of autumn. The Grieg is a collection of his first and last piece, which is more energetic to go with the change in the environment and landscape. The Mahler is an arrangement of his 4th symphony and is a beautiful, lyrical piece.”   

The performance feature guest conductor Steve Lewis, music director of the Midwest Chamber Ensemble.

“I wanted my students to have a different perspective and work with someone new so they can learn from it,” Miranda said. “I’ve known Steve for a long time and worked with him before so I knew it (the performance) would be a great opportunity for my students to work with him.”

 The chamber orchestra is composed of 20 students, from a variety of majors, and featured primarily string instruments.

“They (students) put a lot of work into,” Miranda said. “It’s amazing to see how much energy our students put into it.”

The next musical event will be a concert by the Emporia Symphony Orchestra called “Symphonic Extravaganza.” The event will feature a variety of songs from musicals, movies, pop songs and video games. It took place on Tuesday at the Emporia Granada Theater.