{"id":1388,"date":"2018-05-13T09:34:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-13T13:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/?p=1388"},"modified":"2020-08-16T23:23:12","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T03:23:12","slug":"ht-preview-of-masterpiece-intensity-and-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/2018\/05\/13\/ht-preview-of-masterpiece-intensity-and-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"HT Preview of Masterpiece: Intensity and Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bloomington Symphony closing book on 48th season<\/h1>\n
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  • By Peter Jacobi H-T columnist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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    Once again, we come to a \u201cnext Sunday\u201d event you should know about ahead of time, not on the morning of the performance. So, I cast the spotlight on next Sunday evening\u2019s concert by the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, the closing event of its 48th season.<\/p>\n

    Called \u201cMasterpiece, Intensity and Passion,\u201d it focuses not only on a mix of short works \u2014 engaging ones by Richard Strauss (Serenade for Winds), Paul Dukas (Fanfare to \u201cLa Peri\u201d),and Michael Schachter (\u201cFive \u2013 Six \u2013 Seven \u2013 Eight,\u201d a light-hearted run-through of musical styles from the Baroque forward) \u2014 but to a performance of the third movement from Max Bruch\u2019s thrilling Violin Concerto Number 1, featuring the orchestra\u2019s 2018 Youth Concerto Competition winner, Phillip Hammond.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    The program ends with the work its creator said \u201cis the best thing I ever composed or shall,\u201d Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky\u2019s powerful Symphony Number 6 (Pathetique), a profound masterpiece that demands the best of any orchestra.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0And remember that the BSO is not a professional ensemble. It is a community orchestra. Yes, all members know their instruments; they are serious musicians. Some have been practicing professionals, both as performers and teachers. Some have not. But, these days, they all are part of a community ensemble with a fine tradition in a town that loves music. And these musicians love both their music and their orchestra. They participate on top of full-time jobs or to enrich their retirement years or as students seeking an added regular gig for experience. As members of the BSO, they are part-timers, but devotedly so.<\/div>\n

    At rehearsals, all are on a first-name basis, even with their young and knowing artistic director and conductor, Alejandro Gomez Guillen. They\u2019re not in formal wear, but shorts, jeans, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sneakers, sandals. Tension is absent. Comfort abounds.<\/p>\n

    I attended a BSO rehearsal last Tuesday evening, a portion of the weekly two-and-a-half hour session that \u2014 because it is close to concert time \u2014 has been beefed up with additional rehearsal periods for preparation. Much of the evening was devoted to sectionals, \u2014 strings, brasses, and so forth \u2014 focusing on refinements. Maestro Gomez Guillen was fully in charge. He sat up front, facing a table covered with scores. He gave the downbeats. He waved the hands. He stopped the music, often, to address a point, through spoken explanation or sung demonstration; he has a fine and trained voice that can belt or croon and cover a string of octaves. What he told or sang to the players, they seemed to understand; on replay of the faulty passage, one could hear immediate change.<\/p>\n

    In addition to the affable Donna Lafferty, executive director of the orchestra and a trombonist within its ranks who teased me into coming to the rehearsal, I spoke with four BSO members. They each met me with the joy of belonging:<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Frank Watson, double bass, who playfully asked me to guess his age: I said 70. His fingers pointed upward. I said 75. His fingers pointed upward. I said 80. His fingers pointed upward. He\u2019s in his early 80s, joined the orchestra about 15 years ago, plays with other groups serving different repertoire, and looks forward, he said, to every rehearsal and every concert of the BSO. \u201cI don\u2019t want to miss a single one. This is where I like to be,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Todd Davidson, principal trumpet who studied in IU\u2019s Jacobs School: he has taught music, worked at The Herald-Times, and now in software technology. He, too, joined the orchestra 15 years ago. He spoke approvingly of Maestro Gomez Guillen, describing his work as \u201csensitive, detailed\u201d and very helpful because of his \u201cgreat sense of phrasing, his ability to shape musical lines.\u201d Davidson continues to \u201cspend an hour or two every day practicing. Music has always been part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Victoria Hilkevitch, first violinist and retired professor of psychology: She\u2019s been with the BSO for 20 years and told me being with the orchestra \u201chas been like being with family.\u201d She praised her conductor. \u201cAlejandro is the first artistic director we\u2019ve had since I joined who is a string player. So, he really knows our problems and has a way of telling us how to fix them. He\u2019s engaging. He\u2019s challenging. He listens to us. He\u2019s humorous and can laugh at himself. Alejandro has worked hard to make us play more like a chamber orchestra, with a sense of closer unity. I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Simona Staneva, principal second violin, who just joined the orchestra a few months ago: Simona came from her native Bulgaria in 2015 to study at the Jacobs School, where she is a junior. Her purpose in joining the BSO: to get more experience. Analyzing her conductor\u2019s contribution to that experience, she said she has benefited from \u201chis patience, ability to explain clearly, and sense of balance.\u201d She has found him \u201cto be a good person to be around, emotional in a good way, and willing to show us on the instrument how something should be played.\u201d As for the BSO, \u201cIt puts me among musicians of all kinds and backgrounds and ages. I value that.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Join the enthusiastic four Bloomington Symphony Orchestra players mentioned above, their colleagues, and their conductor next Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Bloomington Symphony closing book on 48th season By Peter Jacobi H-T columnist Once again, we come to a \u201cnext Sunday\u201d event you should know about ahead of time, not on… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-purchase-tickets"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9cNEX-mo","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1410,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/2018\/05\/22\/a-compellingly-sweeping-performance-review-of-masterpiece\/","url_meta":{"origin":1388,"position":0},"title":"A Compellingly Sweeping Performance: Review of Masterpiece","author":"Donna Lafferty","date":"May 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Review: Local residents lucky to have Bloomington Symphony Orchestra By Peter Jacobi | H-T Reviewer | pjacobi@heraldt.com They\u2019ve found each other. 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