Lauren Saner/Winonan

Dr. Dan Sheridan of Winona State University’s Music Department described said performing Carl Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto, Opus 57 is like being on the TV show Ninja Warrior, and the final challenge is “trying to put a baby to sleep.”

Dr. Donald Lovejoy, director of the Winona Symphony Orchestra, director of bands and coordinator of Brass Studies, wants the audience of the orchestra’s upcoming performance to react positively to this piece, and acknowledge that the piece is not as heavy as usually perceived.

Through being a professor at Winona State for the past 16 years and director of the Winona Symphony Orchestra for 6 years, he has interacted with all sorts of music.

Lovejoy said he enjoys commemorating composers and pieces that have withstood the test of time. The Winona Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Carl Nielsen’s birth with two of his pieces; his first piece, “Little Suite, Opus 1,” and one of his last, the “Clarinet Concerto, Opus 57.” Lovejoy describes “Little Suite” as conservative – at least in comparison to Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto.

Sheridan will be the clarinet soloist for Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto. The Winona Symphony Orchestra is lucky to have a soloist who has attacked this beast of a piece before.

Sheridan himself describes it as an extremely difficult piece.

“[It is] bipolar—lyrical, soothing and melodic one moment, and flying off the rails the next,” Sheridan said.

The Nielsen pieces are “bookended” with two selections by Russell Peck: “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Signs of Life,” which has two movements. These pieces were originally written separately, but Peck later published them as a three-movement piece called “Signs of Life II.” Lovejoy describes “Don’t Tread on Me” as having slight jazz and easy-listening influences.

On Sept. 20, under the direction of Dr. Lovejoy, the Winona Symphony Orchestra will have their first concert of the academic year at Wesley United Methodist Church. The concert will begin at 3 p.m., with a pre-concert talk by Dr. Lovejoy at 2:30. p.m.