Steven Errante, conductor
Featuring the World Premiere of Azalea Suite!
Steven Errante's 35th Season with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra concludes with a world premiere of his newly commissioned work Azalea Suite! This concert will also feature works by Boulanger, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky’s heart-on-the-sleeve take on unrequited love, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.
We must regretfully announce the postponement of Domonique Launey and Elizabeth Loparits’s performance of Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos. The Concerto for Two Pianos will be moved to our upcoming 2022-2023 Season.
Featuring the World Premiere of Azalea Suite!
Steven Errante's 35th Season with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra concludes with a world premiere of his newly commissioned work Azalea Suite! This concert will also feature works by Boulanger, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky’s heart-on-the-sleeve take on unrequited love, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.
We must regretfully announce the postponement of Domonique Launey and Elizabeth Loparits’s performance of Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos. The Concerto for Two Pianos will be moved to our upcoming 2022-2023 Season.
This concert is sponsored by:
AZALEA SUITE
From Steven Errante: Since the work was commissioned by the North Carolina Azalea Festival, it seemed a natural thing for me to write a multi-movement piece representing the character of a number of azalea varieties. I perched color photographs of the chosen blooms on my music rack and decided on an adjective describing each (these are parenthetically listed in the program next to each movement title). The final movement is inspired by walking into an azalea garden, where the profusion and variety of color can be breathtaking, but this musical garden consists of a collage of themes from the previous movements.
The five movements are as follows:
From Steven Errante: Since the work was commissioned by the North Carolina Azalea Festival, it seemed a natural thing for me to write a multi-movement piece representing the character of a number of azalea varieties. I perched color photographs of the chosen blooms on my music rack and decided on an adjective describing each (these are parenthetically listed in the program next to each movement title). The final movement is inspired by walking into an azalea garden, where the profusion and variety of color can be breathtaking, but this musical garden consists of a collage of themes from the previous movements.
The five movements are as follows:
- Introduction: Flame (brassy)
- Fugue: Formosa (joyful)
- Aria and Dance: Kurume (lyrical) and Coastal (delicate)
- Interlude: Satsuki (restrained)
- Finale: The Azalea Garden (brilliant)
Azalea Suite is commissioned by the North Carolina Azalea Festival

ABOUT THE COMPOSER
At an early age Steven Errante began arranging, composing and conducting for various musical groups in the Detroit area where he grew up. By the time he graduated from high school, his music was being performed by leading orchestras and musicians.
At college, he studied composition and conducting at the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School, studying with Leslie Bassett, Vincent Persichetti, and Uri Mayer. During this time, he wrote the score for The Boar's Head Festival, a work heard annually in Detroit since 1972.
Steven Errante has been Conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and a member of the UNCW Department of Music faculty since 1986. He is also founding conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra and accompanist for the Girls’ Choir of Wilmington. Dr. Errante has degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School and has previously taught at the University of Michigan, Northern Michigan University, and the University of Richmond. He has also been active as a composer and arranger, his Battleship North Carolina March has been performed throughout the region by the North Carolina Symphony, and many of the guest artists performing jazz and popular music with the Wilmington Symphony have been backed up by his arrangements.
Steven Errante has a special gift for making music an exciting adventure, whether it is through his teaching, conducting, or composing. Those who have experienced his genuine warmth and intense enthusiasm for music may attest to the deeper understanding and heightened emotional experiences they have discovered under his musical direction and in his compositions.
At an early age Steven Errante began arranging, composing and conducting for various musical groups in the Detroit area where he grew up. By the time he graduated from high school, his music was being performed by leading orchestras and musicians.
At college, he studied composition and conducting at the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School, studying with Leslie Bassett, Vincent Persichetti, and Uri Mayer. During this time, he wrote the score for The Boar's Head Festival, a work heard annually in Detroit since 1972.
Steven Errante has been Conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and a member of the UNCW Department of Music faculty since 1986. He is also founding conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra and accompanist for the Girls’ Choir of Wilmington. Dr. Errante has degrees from the University of Michigan and the Juilliard School and has previously taught at the University of Michigan, Northern Michigan University, and the University of Richmond. He has also been active as a composer and arranger, his Battleship North Carolina March has been performed throughout the region by the North Carolina Symphony, and many of the guest artists performing jazz and popular music with the Wilmington Symphony have been backed up by his arrangements.
Steven Errante has a special gift for making music an exciting adventure, whether it is through his teaching, conducting, or composing. Those who have experienced his genuine warmth and intense enthusiasm for music may attest to the deeper understanding and heightened emotional experiences they have discovered under his musical direction and in his compositions.
CLICK HERE to review our COVID-19 policy.