Home | Press Room
- Change in LSO’s final concert leads to special musical treat
- April’s ’Organ Symphony’ features stellar performances
- Lafayette Symphony shines in Mahler concert
- Like classical music? Keller winners deliver
- Made in America - Maestro Palmer’s, LSO’s mark of excellence
- Lafayette Symphony awarded $15,000 grant from Clowes Foundation
- The Lafayette Symphony mourns a long-time member and friend
- Lafayette Symphony Orchestra Receives Grant from Target
Change in LSO’s final concert leads to special musical treat
The cancellation of the appearance of the Purdue Glee Club as the guest artists for the final concert of the Lafayette Symphony’s season resulted in a significant change in the program. Since the concert was dedicated to the observance of Armed Forces Day, much of the original programming included music that filled that bill.
However, one of Lafayette’s former residents agreed to fill the gap and the result was a musical treat for the audience and the orchestra alike. Former radio broadcaster for WBAA-Purdue, Greg Kostraba, came back to town and once again appeared with the LSO as he had on other occasions. With the cooperation of the orchestra and Maestro Nicholas Palmer, he brought along music by the American composer William Grant Still and the ever-pleasing "Rhapsody in Blue" of George Gershwin.
Kostraba is a pianist of fine reputation having participated in several major piano competitions over the years. He also can claim the honor of helping to found the Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society which has been pleasing audiences for the past decade.
The music of composer Still fills a large catalog of compositions ranging from serious music to at least one movie score. All of it has a definite feeling of jazz, African-American blues, and a touch here and there of gospel. He composed in all musical media including orchestra, band, choral, solo instruments and vocal music. The orchestra beautifully supported Kostraba in "Kaintuck" a tone poem reminiscent of W. C. Handy of "St. Louis Blues" fame and for whom Still made various orchestrations. Kostraba caught the mood of the piece. The flashy and demanding work proved a delight to the audience rewarding him and the orchestra with prolonged applause.
Other selections by this composer proved to be equally exciting causing one to wonder why orchestras do not choose to play more of this Ellington-era composer. A solo piano encore "Summerland" also by Still quietly closed the evening’s program.
Palmer opened the concert with some more familiar selections appropriate to the observation and salutations to America’s fighting men in present and past wars.
Part the Second was the performance of Gershwin’s "Rhapsody." As Kostraba observed, "There isn’t much more I could say about this piece that hasn’t already been said ... so I won’t." And then he promptly gave a stunning performance of the ever-favorite jazzy work from 1924 that has endured handsomely for more than three-quarters of a century. The familiar themes still bring an audience to its feet, and Kostraba’s exciting performance can be numbered among the best that the LSO has ever performed during the last 50 years.
Welcome back, Greg, anytime.
We cannot close this season without congratulating the orchestra on a season of music that was entertaining, edifying and musically satisfying to even the most jaded musicians in the surround areas. Here’s to raising a glass to future seasons with the same golden touch of success under the baton of Nick Palmer.
Jaeger is a retired choral music director and may be contacted by calling the Journal & Courier at (765) 420-5226.
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April’s ’Organ Symphony’ features stellar performances
Although it wasn’t the final concert of the season, the conductor of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra declared to the audience that the final May concert was to be lighter in nature than the usual classical programming. So the audience was set to enjoy this concert for it contained some fine music and featured one of Greater Lafayette’s favorite solo performers, Marc Loudon.
It is gratifying to perceive the musical atmosphere and proficiency of this 2007-2008 season’s concerts that will close with the May concert. We have heard more challenging programming, a higher level of performance quality and a generally good rapport with the musicians and the audience, all due, no doubt, to the first-rate leadership of Maestro Nicholas Palmer. His down-to-earth communication with local supporters is apparent in audience acceptance and next season promises to be equally exhilarating.
The concert was titled the "Organ Symphony" concert but it contained a great deal more. It makes one wonder where Palmer located all those brass players. Those titanium-lipped, leather lunged players were given several chances to shine on Saturday evening and shine they did. LSO has not had a brass section with this facility and "chutzpah" in my memory which goes back quite a few years. My question to the Maestro is, "Do you make them play or do you let them play like that?" He just smiles and says, "Yep. They are pretty good, aren’t they?" That is putting it mildly.
The concert opener was the "Overture to Luisa Miller" a Verdi opera that is often passed over by opera impresarios for some unknown reason. The overture can stand alone as a separate orchestral piece with some of the Italian’s Verdi’s best orchestration. Perhaps the gloomy plot edges out the beauty of the music but the LSO did great service to a work that is often ignored or overlooked.
Following was Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of the original piano group "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky. A descriptive work of several "movements" connected by short sections called "Promenades," it is richly descriptive as a visit to a mythical art exhibition and is inherently Russian in style although given a French touch by Ravel’s orchestral transcription. The final section, "The Great Gate of Kiev" is stunning in its majesty and while I do not ignore the contributions of the strings, woodwinds and percussion, those fine brasses outdid themselves in this one.
Camille Saint-Saens was one of those French "wunderkinds" of music in the manner of the German Mozart and Mendelssohn. Writing his first composition for piano at age 3, he had memorized all 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven by the age of 10 and challenged his audiences to pick one as an encore which he would play from memory.
"Symphony No. 3 in C minor" is known as the "Organ Symphony" because of the unusual use of that instrument as another orchestral instrument.
The guest soloist of the work was Loudon. Loudon has probably taken more well-deserved solo bows in this area than any other musician. His fame reached beyond Indiana’s borders and he is known as a pianist, a harpsichordist, an organist; he is a fine vocal coach as well as a tough competitor on the tennis court. This in no way hampers his day job as a faculty member at Purdue University. No wonder he deserves those bows.
The "Symphony No. 3" perhaps does not give the organist a chance to display talents to the fullest but with the exception of some major triple forte chords that caused the audience to jump a bit, it was a stellar performance on everybody’s part. The opening movements starts quietly but quickly gives way to some nervous, restless string work. Going from there to develop the many themes that the composer piles one on another it because a bit of a search to see just when he would develop the motifs fully or whether he merely adds new material.
Saint-Saens actually preferred to write operas (13, in fact) but only one has remained in the upper echelon of national opera companies’ favorites: "Samson and Delilah." While this symphony is numbered three, the fact is that it was number five and he never wrote another. He was convinced that the symphony was a "German" invention and he was "too French" to continue writing in that medium.
Needless to say we are happy that he wrote this one and especially that the LSO played it so beautifully. Players, soloist and conductor all coalesced into an exquisite accomplishment that left the audience with the realization that the evening was well spent and pleased that they had braved the rain and enhanced their day.
Jaeger is a retired choral music director and may be contacted by calling the Journal & Courier at (765) 420-5226.
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Lafayette Symphony Shines in Mahler concert
It was a bird of rare plumage that flew over Long Center on Saturday evening when Maestro Nicholas Palmer and a larger than usual orchestra brought an audience to its feet, applauding wildly and granting six curtain calls to the performers.
And the standing ovation was not of the normal type where one jumps to his feet at the mere completion of the show.
There were many highlights, not the least of which was the second half with the performance of Gustav Mahler’s "Symphony No. 1 in D Major," a work that challenges the greatest of orchestras and conductors. More on that later.
Opening the concert with a little ditty confusingly named "A Festive Violet Pulse" which was loud and mercifully short, the program proceeded to Jacques Ibert’s "Homage a Mozart." The piece has all the elements of Ibert’s mastery of orchestration with the joyful abandon of a Three Stooges pie fight.
The composer was well known as a provider of French movie scores as well as his more familiar "Divertissement" and "The Entrance of the Clowns." Palmer skimmed the fun without sacrificing the musical elements.
The guest soloist of the evening was French hornist Richard "Rick" Graef, a master of that instrument that is capable of producing haunting moods as well as rich brass contributions.
The Mozart "Horn Concerto No. 3" is one of many he wrote for his friend Ignaz Lelutgeb.
He delighted in writing dazzling elements for the horn which at the time was not a valved instrument.
Instead, colorations and pitch variations were controlled by the player’s embrochure and the hand position within the bell of the horn. Graef used a modern valved horn but the dazzle was evident in the scales, trills and the sensitivity of shading and phrasing which Mozart made sure were included.
The composer was especially fond of the sound of the hunting horn.
Gustav Mahler was born in 1860 into a Jewish-Bohemian household. He was not raised in poverty as he often averred but his music contains images of a troubled life fraught with neuroticism and chronic angst.
During his lifetime he was better known as an orchestral conductor, especially of operas where he was principal conductor of the prestigious Vienna Opera.
When his early symphonies were not exactly Top 40 hits, he said, "My time will come," and the late Leonard Bernstein saw to it that it did. Bernstein began to feature Mahler’s works in the 1950s and even wrote a monograph entitled "His Time Has Come" as indeed it had.
The symphony is a rich compendium of sounds of nature, a sprightly waltz that is probably undanceable and a funeral march based rather incongruously on a the children’s round, "Freres Jacques" which is hauntingly mindful of Mahler’s fixation on death. The irony of this morphing into a sound resembling Jewish folk music is apparent.
He was familiar with the death and dying because of the 12 children born into the Mahler family, five died in childbirth, his favorite brother died at age 13 and his older brother committed suicide.
The orchestra handled the requisite pianissimos and fortes with restraint and vigor as Palmer was in total command at all times.
His mission was to probe the nuances and sensitivity in the music and not merely beat time with his baton.
The result was a touching yet thrilling musical experience that scholars and rank and file listeners could relate to and appreciate.
It is exciting to hear our local symphony orchestra begin to expand its musical horizons into horizons not heretofore explored. Let us hope this trend continues.
Jaeger is a retired choral music director and may be contacted by calling the Journal & Courier at (765) 420-5226.
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Like classical music? Keller winners deliver
Those music lovers who braved the tantrum Mother Nature threw on Saturday evening were rewarded with a holiday concert that canceled the gloom of a raging snowstorm with some astounding young musicians who were the winners of the annual Alan Keller Memorial competition.
While the audience didn’t fill the house, the musicians filled the Long Center with memorable performances and even offered a cheery chance to sing along with the orchestra on some old favorite songs and carols of the season. Maestro Nicholas Palmer, in a pair of holiday pants, became a choral conductor and led the "500-voice choir" to a rousing conclusion.
But it was what came before the finale that had the listeners cheering at the accomplishments of cellist Christian Schrock, violinist Jinty McTavish and pianist Nathan Kross. These kids strode onto the stage and without any show of nervousness or peacockery, treated Haydn, Bruch and Liszt like a piece of holiday cake.
After opening the concert with Carl Maria von Weber’s "Overture to Oberon" by the orchestra, Schrock performed the first movement of Haydn’s "Cello Concerto in C Major" as though it was an everyday occurrence like brushing your teeth. Only this was far more satisfying and the results more shining. The rich, warm tone and the careful phrasing were a complement to Papa Haydn’s genius and Schrock displayed a mature affinity with the 18th century master.
Second soloist on the program was McTavish who handled the Max Bruch "Violin concerto in G Minor." Bruch, who is primarily remembered as a choral composer is often referred to as a purveyor of treacley melodies.
She put to rest the nay-sayers who often minimize the gorgeous melodic strains that the composer is noted for. Her careful phrasing and dynamic control suited the piece so well while Maestro Palmer led the orchestra as though it was the caring schoolmarm who was supporting and guiding this young musical charge. The sensitivity of McTavish whom we have watched grow into her musical maturity, was musically enriching.
The third Keller winner of the evening was an astounding, dynamic and challenging performance of the "Totentanz" (Dance of Death) by that giant of pianistic fame, Franz Liszt, who is legendary in the annals of piano literature.
Crashing chords, dazzling scales and arpeggios and double (yes, double) glissandos cause one to wonder if this outstanding pianist has any skin left on his knuckles or any fingernail remaining after this performance. I consulted a friend who is a reknowned keyboard artist himself on the performance of this work. He indicated that few pianists actually "play that work" but with all the musical challenges it contains, it would be difficult to determine if ever there were any wrong notes. But that does not in any way attenuate Kross’ thrilling performance
The second half of the concert was a series of more familiar holiday music, sort of. Bizet’s "Farandole" more familiarly known as the "March of the Men of Harlech," four dances from Tachaikovsky’s Nutcracker and less familiar "Channukah Overture" before the final Christmas Community Sing-a-long.
In spite of the grungy weather, many of the audience stayed around to eat holiday cake and congratulate the winning contestants who proved once again that the musical world is enriched by the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra and the Alan Keller competition that offers the brightest and the best.
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’Made in America
In 1921, the
That didn’t exactly apply to music although you couldn’t tell from the Lafayette Symphony’s "Made in
Maestro Nicholas Palmer fronted the orchestra in his easy, elegant manner and the audience was delighted.
Opening with a somewhat unfamiliar "Jubilee" by George Whitfield Chadwick, we noted the somewhat Romantic influences of his European forebearers. But this piece showed the new leanings toward the Jazz Age in the
I recall seeing the late Martha Graham and her American Modern Dance Company perform Aaron Copland’s exciting "Appalachian Spring Suite" back when it was practically new in the late 1940s.
Taking snippets of American "mountain music," Copland also chose the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" to express the joy and delight of a simple country wedding. At times the music reflects the rich, almost bawdy joy of a Breughel painting while the final section is a quiet study in what we assume to be the settling down of the young couple into their early wedded bliss.
Taking a distinctly patriotic turn was the featured narrator of "Lincoln Portrait," also by Copland, beautifully read by famed radio commentator John Hultman, a not-so-recent
One almost expected to see Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron bound on to the stage with the playing of Gershwin’s taut, pictorial movie score of "American In Paris." The familiar themes with their American jazzy feel were pleasantly recalled.
Palmer took a few liberties with the score, namely in the slower tempo of the secondary theme. His slow "andante" gave a feeling of a bluesy, moody jazz which recalled a pair of adagio dancers in one "boy beats girl" style of movement.
The final section wanders a bit in its development giving the impression that the composer was lost in the streets of
Jaeger is a retired choral music director and may be contacted by calling the Journal & Courier at 420-5226.
Lafayette Symphony awarded $15,000 grant from Clowes Foundation
Lafayette Indiana December 5 , 2007LAFAYETTE,
The Clowes Charitable Foundation, which was established in 1990 by Allen W. Clowes, has a mission to support the arts and humanities in central Indiana. Allen Clowes was an investor and philanthropist who died Nov. 1, 2000. The foundation was the principal beneficiary of his estate.
"A primary goal of this new initiative at the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra is to make symphonic music available to those families with limited financial resources, whose lives would be enhanced by exposure to classical music," said Ken Bootsma, executive director of the Lafayette Symphony.
Through the one-year Clowes grant, the Lafayette Symphony will expand access to musical programs to families with limited financial means and bolster educational outreach to middle school and high school students, according to Nick Palmer, music director for the LSO.
"Within an eight-block radius of the Long Center, where we perform our concerts, are hundreds of individuals and families who cannot afford to purchase a ticket to see or hear the Lafayette Symphony," Palmer said. "This will help the LSO open our doors to those families and children who might now be able to afford a ticket to one of our performances."
William Marshall, president of the Clowes Foundation, said the Lafayette Symphony’s initiative fit perfectly with the mission of the Indianapolis-based organization.
"The Clowes Foundation is a family foundation that seeks out opportunities to help local and regional musical organizations in Central Indiana enhance the common good and establish programs that foster creativity and the growth of knowledge," Marshall said.
"We pursue these goals by awarding grants to the arts and humanities. Our mission is to help organizations like the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra reach further into their communities with a goal to entertain and educate."
The Lafayette Symphony is in the midst of its first season under the musical leadership of Palmer, who was appointed to the position on July 1 to succeed Ann Harrigan. During the 2007-08 season, the symphony will provide eight performances, which is one more than last year, along with three children’s concerts.
The LSO’s next performance is the Keller Concert-Classical Holiday Celebration at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. The symphony will present its 2007 Keller Competition winners: Christian Schrock on cello, Jinty McTavish on violin, and Nathan Kross on the piano.
Launched in 1950 as a non-profit organization, the 70-person Lafayette Symphony Orchestra is focused on enriching the cultural life of the West Central Indiana community and 14 surrounding counties through excellence in orchestral music and educational experience.
About 80 percent of its patrons are from Lafayette, West Lafayette, and Tippecanoe County, while the remainder are from the surrounding counties of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tipton, Warren, and White.
The Lafayette Symphony mourns a long-time member and friend
The Lafayette Journal & Courier February 16, 2007Mary Rita Cassidy died Thursday morning in Rosewalk Village. She was born to the late John and Mary Elizabeth Gleason in Chicago, Illinois, on September 3, 1913. She married Joseph P. Cassidy there on April 27, 1940. He preceded her in death March 16, 2001.
Mrs. Cassidy graduated from Loretta Academy and the United School of Music in Chicago and taught private violin lessons. She was a member of Sigma Theta Rho sorority and the National Council of Catholic Women.
Mrs. Cassidy moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 1946, where she played in the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and the Furman University Symphony. She was also a member of the Crescent String Quartet and the Junior Palmetto Club. In 1952, she moved to Dallas, Texas, where she participated as both a Girl Scout and a Brownie Troup leader and was active in the PTA at Christ the King school, where her children were students.
In 1958 Mrs. Cassidy moved to Lafayette, Indiana. She was a member of St. Mary Cathedral and the Altar and Rosary Society. She was a past vice-grand regent and past financial secretary of the Catholic Daughters of America. She volunteered at St. Elizabeth Hospital for many years and was a longtime member of the Guild.
Mrs. Cassidy was a violinist in the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra from 1963 until her retirement in 2005. She received the Dr. Nolan Hibner Award for Musicianship and Dedication from the Symphony and also served on the Board of Directors. In addition, she was a past president of the West Lafayette Musicale.
She was secretary-treasurer of Flavored Meats, Inc., and Geriatric Robotics, which were companies she and her husband founded in Lafayette.
She is survived by four daughters: Pat Clayton (husband: Rusty), Rosemary Speaker (husband: Tom), Maribeth Schmitt (husband: Terry), and Joanne Sanders (husband: Tom); and by two sons: Gerald J. and Michael F. (wife: Patty) all of Lafayette. Also surviving are 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Her only sibling, Sr. Mary Rosita C.S.C., a sister of the Holy Cross, preceded her in death along with two grandchildren.
Mrs. Cassidy was a devout Catholic, sharing a special devotion to Mary the Mother of God. She was a loving mother and grandmother who will be remembered for her sense of humor, her wise counsel, and for the many rosaries she offered to keep everyone safe and sound. Her peaceful passing into Heaven will leave a void in the hearts of everyone who knew her.
