Say cello, say goodbye

Send off one of the original members of the Newport Symphony Orchestra, principal cellist Barbara Johnston, at a special season ending concert at Newport’s Pacific Maritime Heritage Center this Saturday, May 25.

In addition to Johnston, the concert will feature Concertmaster Casey Bozell, violin; Irene Gadeholt, violin; Shelley Matthewson, viola; and Sherill Roberts, cello. The concert will take place in the Doerfler Family Theater, which offers breathtaking views of Yaquina Bay.

Music Director Adam Flatt and the five musicians have created a program for a heartfelt send-off. Johnston and her husband, principal timpanist, Craig Johnston, both retired at the end of the 2023-24 season after 34 years in the ensemble. The Johnstons are the last remaining founding members of the Newport Symphony who joined when it was known as the Yaquina Chamber Orchestra.

The musicians will perform English composer Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony” and Franz Schubert’s “String Quintet in C Major.” Britten completed the symphony for string orchestra or string quartet in 1934, when he was a young boy. His youthful exuberance is displayed throughout the piece, as in the second movement’s playful pizzicato and the lively frolicking finale.

Schubert composed his famous quintet in 1828 two months before he died. It is considered by some the pinnacle of chamber music. The string quintet is written for two violins, viola and two cellos. He used one of the cellos primarily for the bass line and harmony, and unique for the time, he prominently features the other cellist’s full range with seemingly never-ending beautiful melodies.

The performance begins at 7:30 pm at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, located at 333 SE Bay Blvd. in Newport. Tickets are $42. For more information, go to newportsymphony.org or call 541-265-2787.