St. Olaf Orchestra Gives World Premiere in Memory of Eric Drotning, AYS Alumnus

The internationally known St. Olaf Orchestra from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., will perform at Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center on Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $28, $22, and $16 for adults, and $8 for students, and can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or at the theater box office, 505-883-7800.

Called "one of the best college orchestras in the nation" by Time magazine's Richard Ostling, the St. Olaf Orchestra will perform dance motifs including the Die Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss, La Valse by Maurice Ravel and excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

This concert also features the world premiere of "The Gift" by Steven Amundson, which was commissioned by William and Christine Drotning and Seth and Elizabeth Drotning Hartwell of Albuquerque in memory of Eric Drotning.

Eric graduated from La Cueva High School and was a member of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and the Santa Clara Vanguard and Blue Devils drum & bugle corps. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in percussion performance from St. Olaf and Cleveland State University before his death in 2005.