A SONIC FAIRY TALE. The Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra will present its 2026 season finale and spring performance, "Magic Flutes," at 2pm on April 26 within the Pablo Center at the Confluence (128 Graham Ave., Eau Claire). The area orchestra will perform five works, one being Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and feature three guest artists. (Image courtesy of Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra event poster)

Orchestral compositions often reveal themes and motifs of darkness, light and finding one's way through the world. Later this April, these virtues will come together during the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) 2026 season finale.

The area chamber orchestra invites Chippewa Vallians to its final spring performance, "Magic Flutes," at 2pm on Sunday, April 26 in the JAMF Theater within the Pablo Center at the Confluence (128 Graham Ave., Eau Claire).

Under the direction of Maestro Matthew Poon, assistant professor of music theory at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the orchestra will perform five works and feature three guest artists.

The full orchestra will open with the overture to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s "The Magic Flute." This famous two-act opera tells a fairy tale story of Prince Tamino’s quest to rescue Princess Pamina with a magic flute.

"Composed in the final year of his life, Mozart’s 'The Magic Flute' is one of his most beloved and enigmatic works – part fairy tale, part philosophical allegory and part comic opera," an ECCO media release shared.

"The opera reflects Mozart’s deepening musical maturity and spiritual curiosity. Its overture offers a perfect prelude to the drama, encapsulating the opera’s mixture of mystery, nobility and joy," the release continued.

The performance will conclude with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ "The Running Set," composed in 1933 with themes from four traditional folk dance tunes of British origin.

Tim Lane, UW-Eau Claire’s emeritus professor and master flutist, will perform a solo of Charles Griffes’ "Poem," a one-movement flute concerto composed in 1918 which hints at Claude Debussy’s "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun."

Hong-Da Chin, a renowned Chinese flutist, composer and associate professor of music composition at Western Illinois University, will play the dizi – the traditional Chinese bamboo flute – on an original piece for the instrument titled "A Withering Sunflower with Uneven Legs." Chin will be accompanied by the 14-piece orchestra at the April 26 performance.

Steven Maijala, virtuoso oboist and English hornist with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra (CVSO) and the ECCO, will solo on oboe in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ "Oboe Concerto," composed during the final years of World War II.

This composition will showcase the oboe’s lyrical, agile and expressive qualities.

Tickets to the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra's 2026 season finale on April 26, "Magic Flutes," can be purchased at the Pablo Center at the Confluence in advance or at the door. Adult (21-plus) tickets are $30/person plus taxes and fees. Attendees under age 21 are eligible for free entry, seat fees and taxes are required for purchase.

For additional information about the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra and its annual offerings, visit its Facebook page online (@eauclairechamberorchestra).