By Nancy Raskauskas
The Entertainer | Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 12:00 am
Symphony finale to feature German guests, new works
CORVALLIS - According to Corvallis-OSU Symphony conductor Marlan Carlson plans for the season finale concert "Around the World Extravaganza" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at LaSells Stewart Center, have been in the works since June of 2007.
The original concept was an "East Meets West" concept with new compositions from Chinese and German composers. But, one thing led to another.
"I figured we're going to all this trouble to put this together, let's get a Corvallis composer," Carlson said.
He ended up getting two.
The concert will bring together three large ensembles: the symphony, Oregon State University Brass Ensemble and the Max Planck High School Big Band from Schorndorf, Germany.
The night will also highlight numerous soloists, guest conductors and the four new compositions written for the occasion by German composer Wolfgang Dauner, Chinese composer Hu Xiao and Corvallis composers Michael Coolen and Rob Birdwell.
Opening the program will be the 25-member OSU Brass Ensemble directed by Larry Johnson playing "Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare for Brass and Tympani."
Guest conductor and former choir of the OSU physics department, Ken Krane, will then lead the roughly 60-member symphony in the first movement of Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik."
The final piece before intermission will be the "Beethoven Violin Concerto" performed by the symphony with former Oregon Symphony concertmaster, Amy Schwartz Moretti as the featured soloist on violin.
The second half of the concert will be highlighted by the debuts of the four new compositions.
Coolen's piece, "Tritonic Rhapsody for Piano" will feature pianist Rachelle McCabe.
Coolen is an ethnomusicology professor at OSU and said his new piece refers to the "diabolic in musica" a term from the Middle Ages for a the discordant tritone in music, that was thought to have a dangerous effect on people's behavior.
Coolen who has studied music from around the world and been active in the northwest marimba scene, also employs an interesting technique in his piece, where percussionist Bob Brudvig uses a bow instead of mallets to play a vibraphone.
The second world premiere will be "Eulogy for Immortal II" composed by Xiao, a Sichuan Conservatory of Music professor from Chengdu, China. Xiao has dedicated the piece to the memory of victims of the earthquake that devastated Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. Xiao is a survivor of the quake.
The piece was commissioned by the symphony and will feature Jay Chen with a haunting flugelhorn solo.
Xiao has been a guest of the OSU Music program on three previous occasions. Unfortunately, his travel visa was not approved for this trip, so he will not be at the concert.
The third premiere will be an arrangement that combines the visiting Max Planck High School Big Band with the symphony orchestra. German jazz pianist and composer Wolfgang Dauner wrote a new arrangement of his 1985 composition "Feuerwerxmusik" for big band and symphony orchestra for the occasion.
This appearance will be the final concert on the band's 10-day tour through Oregon. The 26-member band is being hosted on homestays by parents of Corvallis High School musicians and members of the First Congregational United Church of Christ.
Director Martin Drechsler founded the the Max Planck High School Big Band in 1998 and has taken the group on three previous U.S. tours in 2002, 2004, 2006. Drechsler attended OSU from 1980-82.
To conclude the program, local musician, composer and jazz teacher, Rob Birdwell, will lead the combined musical groups in his expansive composition "A New Day."
According to Birdwell, the name of the song has many meanings.
"We've got a new Administration and I excited about that," he said. "But more than anything, I just wanted it to be a statement of hope."
Birdwell, who lives in Corvallis with his wife Christel and three children, studied music at University of Idaho and the Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. He leads the Early Bird Jazz Band at Linus Pauling Middle School, and has a day job as a software consultant. Birdwall plays in several local groups, including the symphony, Sideways Portal and The Svens.
"This is a unique opportunity to write something for symphony and big band," Birdwall said.
"He wrote a piece actually tailor-made to the strengths of the two ensembles," Carlson said.
Both Coolen and Birdwell said they learned a great deal from the musicians who are playing their pieces.
"The music on the page is a guide and ultimately they are the ones that I have to thank the most," Birdwall said.
The "Around the World Extravaganza" is the culminating concert for a season that took inspiration from around the globe including "¡Viva Hispania!" on Oct. 17, 2008; "Go Russia!" on Nov. 25, 2008; an "All American" concert on Feb. 22; and "Carmina Burana"on April 15.
The concert is sponsored by the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra, Corvallis-OSU Symphony Society and OSU Department of Music.
CHECK IT OUT
WHO: Corvallis-OSU Symphony, OSU Brass Ensemble and Max Planck High School (MPG) Big Band.
WHAT: "Around the World Extravaganza" with new pieces "Tritonic Rhapsody" by Michael Coolen," Eulogy for Immortal II" by Hu Xiao, "Feuerwerxmusik" by Wolfgang Dauner and "A New Day" by Rob Birdwell.
SOLOISTS: Rachelle McCabe, concert pianist; Amy Schwartz Moretti, violinist; Jay Chen, flugelhorn soloist; and the Max Planch High School Big Band from Schorndorf Germany.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19.
WHERE: , LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis.
TICKETS: $12, $25 and $30 (reserved seating) and are available at Beard's Framing, Gracewinds Music, Grass Roots Book & Music, Sid Stevens Jewelers or e-mail syminfo@
peak.org. OSU students are admitted for free with ID, as are up to three children with each ticket holder while seats are available. Box office opens one hour before concert.
INFO: www.symphony.peak.org.