Famed classical repertoire lies within the sheet music of the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra for their upcoming concert, "Symphony/Sinfonia." The music will be performed for the community, by musicians from the community.

"Symphony/Sinfonia" is a one-hour concert that will be performed at the Mendocino College Center Theatre on Feb. 26 and 27.

"We're finally doing an all-classical period concert, because it's great repertoire and a very different style of playing," says Phillip Lenberg, Ukiah Symphony Orchestra's music director.

The symphony has yet to perform an all-classical concert under Lenberg's instruction, and this concert will also be one of the first that is entirely performed by local musicians.

When Lenberg was originally planning the concert season for the symphony, the third performance was scheduled to feature film scores from movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Black Panther."

However, with limitations stemming from COVID-19 still affecting live performances, the symphony was forced to pivot and turn toward music that wouldn't require a full orchestra.

Heidi Peterman is the only full-time Mendocino College student involved in the symphony. She plays second violin in the upcoming concert, her chair settled in front of the oboe and French horn section.

There will be 13 local string players appearing in the upcoming concert—three first violinists, four second violinists, two viola players, three cellists and one bass player. The remaining instruments include two oboe and two French horns, completing a common orchestra setup that is used for early classical music.

"It's very exposed," Lenberg comments. With an intimate string section and limited accompaniment, the music has a very subdued, delicate sound. Lenberg adds, "It comes from a style that is supposed to be graceful and courtly."

The three concert composers—Joseph Boulogne, Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart—were all employed by royalty at one point in their careers. Some of their compositions, including the pieces in "Symphony/Sinfonia," are considered aristocracy music.

Boulogne is the standalone composer of the three, though all of them wrote their compositions in the latter half of the 18th century. Boulogne is known as the first black composer of classical music, who was also a violin virtuoso who wrote his own concertos.

The remaining two composers, Salieri and Mozart, have historically been compared to one another throughout their lifetimes and beyond—so much so that a fictional play called "Amadeus" was written around their rivalry.

Both composers were contemporaries writing a similar style of music during the same time period. The main difference was that Mozart, a child prodigy, began writing when he was 4 years old. Despite the comparisons, Salieri and Mozart were equally known throughout Europe as prolific composers.

Mendocino College student Heidi Peterman has found that their music has a technical challenge to it that is different than other music she has performed for the symphony.

"There's a lot of technical skill that I have to focus on. I can't hide behind anybody," Peterman says. She recently joined the symphony as a violinist last semester and remains the only full-time college student in the orchestra.

With only four weeks of preparation time allotted for the upcoming concert, Peterman has tried to spend an hour a day rehearsing her part and learning the music.

"I go on Spotify to get familiar with the piece so I'm not surprised by the music," Peterman says. Previous to receiving sheet music for the concert, her recognition of the compositions was limited to Mozart's 29th symphony that the orchestra is performing.

Mozart wrote the piece when he was 18 years old, which signaled the beginning period of his more mature compositions. As he was still a young composer who was innovating and exploring stylistic changes to his music, his 29th symphony incorporates four movements—a notable divergence from the typical format of the time.

Conversely, the two pieces written by Boulogne and Salieri follow the classical early period format of three musical movements. The first is quick, the second slows and the final movement is fastest.

"It's such iconic music over all of classical music," Lenberg says, exuding excitement over bringing the classical period of works to the community.

A live audience is invited for the weekend performances, with a limit of 100 masked and vaccinated audience members. A recorded version will also be streamed at 7 p.m. on March 4.

Music Director Phillip Lenberg leads the symphony in rehearsal three days before concert.

Lenberg has spent his second and now part of his third year as music director experiencing what it is like to have the performance part of being a musician taken away.

As circumstances have fluctuated over the pandemic and concert venues have moved online and back in person again, Lenberg has been given the opportunity to revisit what it means to be a community orchestra—something he's been contemplating since the beginning of the pandemic.

"The idea of a community orchestra being of and for the community, it's only gotten stronger," Lenberg says. "I think the orchestra's never sounded better than this year."

As he's guided the symphony through rehearsals for the upcoming concert, he has seen a brilliance develop through the delicacy of the music and passion of the musicians.

He concludes, "There's a rejuvenation and excitement in the orchestra to play again."

"Symphony/Sinfonia" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27. Tickets are available for purchase on ukiahsymphony.org.