The lazy, hazy days of summer are officially gone and the busy fall season is well underway. As you pull out sweaters and scarves and start spending your free time keeping warm next to the fire, we hope you consider spending some time with the symphony -- we promise to warm up your soul with plenty of great music.
We had our first -- very successful -- concert on Sunday, October 3, and there are two great concerts just around the corner on Friday, October 22 and Sunday, October 31 (not to mention the rest of our stellar season). Both will be filled with passion and excitement – in very different ways.
Coming up this Friday night is Gettin’ Dizzy: A Tribute to the Swingin’ Trumpet. Mike Herriott is a fabulous trumpet player who is sure to get your toes tapping and bring back some great memories with tunes like Johnny’s Theme (the theme from the Johnny Carson Show), Harry James’ And the Angels Sing and Stardust, and many more from some of the greatest jazz musicians.
I think a highlight of the evening might just be when we take on the famous Flight of the Bumblebee – and to see Mike play lead trumpet for this one will be truly astonishing.
We can’t get Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Mile Davis, and Doc Severinsen on the stage together – but this is pretty close. And Mike will do these jazz greats more than justice with his skill and passion for this music. It’s going to be a fast-paced trip down a swingin’ memory lane, and I can’t wait.
Just this morning I spoke to early morning host Jack Thompson on 102.7 The Lake about this concert and you can hear just how excited I am when you hear this interview. Click here to listen to it!
On Sunday, October 31 our musicians will be full of passion once again, but in a completely different vein. Fire & Passion will feature Rimsky-Korsakov’s gypsy-inspired Capriccio Espagnol, Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
Stravinsky wrote The Firebird, a ballet, in 1910, based on Russian folk tales. It is at times dark and brooding and at times diatonic and somewhat plain. It features glissando harmonics in the strings; this is said to be Stravinsky's attempt to outdo Rimsky-Korsakov in orchestral effects. (You can be the judge as we are featuring both on October 31.)
The Firebird Suite continues into an orchestral tour-de-force with a strong rhythmic pulse and ferocious almost demonic notes and builds to a great climax that I’m sure will inspire everyone in the audience. Actually, I guarantee it.
Here’s a random trivia fact: The Beastie Boys sampled Firebird in the song Electrify on the album Hello Nasty. Even punk kids are rocking out to it.
The Firebird celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and is still one of the most referenced and reproduced piece in classical music.
We’ve got jazz and swing, American and Russian, popular and not-so-well-known. We’ve got a bit of everything coming up. We’ve got anything you could want!
Be sure to have a listen to Mike Herriott in action by clicking here.
And don't forget to check out the Symphony's Youtube video series featuring yours truly! The latest video (click here) is a bit of foreshadowing for this Friday's concert, and we'll post a new one shortly that will highlight the people and pieces to be featured in Fire & Passion.
See you this Friday! (I’ll be the one at the podium holding the baton!)
