Symphonic Selections with the NRSO
By Madeleine Murray
THREE MASTERPIECES spanning the Classical and Romantic eras will take centre stage in an exhilarating orchestral concert celebrating some of music’s greatest composers.
Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra (NRSO) will present Symphonic Selections at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre, on Sunday, July 2026.
The program, conducted by Owen Clarke, opens with Mozart’s dramatic overture to Don Giovanni before acclaimed French horn soloist Neil O’Donnell performs Richard Strauss’s lyrical and technically demanding Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major. The concert concludes with Beethoven’s exhilarating Symphony No. 7 in A Major, a work renowned for its infectious rhythmic energy and emotional power.
From Mozart’s theatrical brilliance to Beethoven’s triumphant finale, the program promises an afternoon of virtuosity, passion and timeless orchestral music.
For Northern Rivers musician and educator Neil O’Donnell, performing Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1 with Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra is the culmination of a musical journey that began more than three decades ago.
Neil first picked up the French horn at the age of 11 and quickly developed a passion for the instrument’s unique blend of power, warmth and lyricism.
Strauss’s First Horn Concerto holds special significance for Neil. Although he studied and performed the work during his conservatorium years, he has never previously presented it in a public concerto performance.
“Every time I return to the piece, I discover something new,” Neil told The Weekly.
“It’s a work that has grown with me. As my musicianship has developed, so has my understanding of its character, passion and heroism.
“The idea of heroism in this piece isn’t straightforward or triumphant in a simple sense. It’s layered. There are moments that feel almost superhuman in their confidence and sweep, but they’re constantly tested – pulled back by doubt, by introspection, by an awareness of vulnerability. That tension is what makes it so compelling to play.
“The second movement, in particular, feels like stepping into another world entirely. It’s so inward-looking, almost fragile in places, like a private conversation with yourself rather than a public statement.
“The lines have this suspended quality, as if time slows down just enough for something unspoken to surface. For me, that movement is where the emotional core of the whole work really reveals itself.”
A trombonist and violinist, conductor Owen Clarke has had a diverse career: recorded and produced five compact discs with the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Navy Bands, formed a Military Band in East Timor, travelled six times to Gallipoli to perform on ANZAC Day and has been announcer on the classical music radio station 4MBS in Brisbane.
Symphonic Selections is at 2:30pm on Sunday, July 26, at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre, Brett Street, Tweed Heads. For tickets go to nrso.com.au