I was talking to our Principal cellist Nancy Ives this evening, and she mentioned that we’re doing a “head spinning” variety of music at the beginning of this season, and I couldn’t agree more!
Right at the beginning of the season, at the end of August, we did two parks concerts, the second of which included a piece by a living composer (Javelin by Michael Torke), an excerpt from La Traviata (with singers), an excerpt from Swan Lake (with dancers), a Schubert symphony movement, and a piece with live cannons (1812 Overture).
Then this week we’re doing a concert with Antony and the Johnsons, next week we host Johnny Mathis, the following week brings Michael Allen Harrison and the Inside the Score look at Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, and finally, at the end of the month, our first Classical series concert, featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. *Phew!*
The lucky musicians who play movie soundtracks, jingles, vocal backing tracks, and other freelance gigs in LA or New York might see this kind of variety all the time, but it’s fairly unusual for a professional symphony orchestra to see this sort of variety.
It shows how seriously that the OSO is in looking at increasing its relevence to the community in which it resides and which it serves, and in reaching a broader base of the public in this city. Plus, it keeps us musicians on our toes and keeps us from falling into old habits brought on by routine. Good for us, and good for you!