EVANSTON — The Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra performed at Davis Middle School in Evanston on Friday, Feb. 23, in the latest installment of the Arts, Inc. annual concert series, treating attendees to some beautiful music on a cold winter’s night. 

The Chamber Orchestra is the most selective of the five orchestra programs at BYU that feature a total of more than 400 students. According to conductor Kory Katseanes, the Chamber Orchestra travels extensively and has performed in more than 20 countries around the world. 

For the Evanston concert, the Chamber Orchestra was joined for the first portion of the program by the Evanston Civic Orchestra, conducted by both Katseanes and ECO conductor Nick Harker, who is himself a former BYU student.

The combined orchestras played multiple selections, including a memorable arrangement of Handel’s “Water Music.” Harker explained the piece was written at the request of England’s King George I, who specifically wanted a concert played on the River Thames. An entire orchestra boarded a barge to perform, and ultimately repeated the piece several times on the King’s orders as the boat went up and down the river. 

There was a brief intermission following “Water Music,” as the Evanston Civic Orchestra left the stage and its members were able to enjoy the second part of the show from the audience as the Chamber Orchestra performed Haydn’s “Symphony no. 60, Il Distrato.” 

Katseanes described Haydn’s work as “the funniest piece of music in history,” explaining that it was written to accompany a play about a village idiot. 

“It’s kind of slapstick comedy jokes,” said Katseanes. He then had the musicians play a few small snippets of the work to let the audience know what the funny parts sounded like beforehand. “Nowadays you have laugh tracks in shows to tell you when to laugh,” he said, “so I’ll let you know what the funny parts are, except for the very funniest part. I’ll let you figure that out yourselves.” 

Judging by some hearty laughter, audience members did indeed find it amusing, especially the funniest part that was saved for the conclusion of the piece. It was quite easy to envision a village idiot up to all sorts of shenanigans as the players used music to paint their picture. 

The next installment of the Arts, Inc. Concert series featuring Banff National Park-based trio, “The Wardens,” will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 9, at Davis Middle School.