The Chandler Symphony Orchestra performed its second concert of the 2010-2011 season two Sundays ago. It was a great concert. It ran a bit shorter than our normal time, but all of us musicians were more comfortable with the music so that worked well.
The Russian piece “Festive” went well though it did not stick in my memory too much. I was much too excited for the “Peer Gynt” Suite #1. I enjoy every movement in that piece but my favorite is Anitra’s Dance. Most people gravitate towards Hall of the Mountain King. The he constant struggle of keeping the beat while it feels like it should be getting faster is exhilarating, and then it is freeing to actually go faster. It is a great piece. I was introduced to Anitra’s Dance first though. It was in a computer game I played as a preteen so it strikes a nostalgic chord. The music for the bassists is boring in Anitra’s Dance. We pluck the downbeat for almost every measure. That does not matter. Like Russ the bass chair said when we have down time during the music that just means “we have the best seats in the house”.
The Haydn Symphony challenged the orchestra. Remember this is from a bassist perspective, the symphony had some enough difficult passages note wise to keep it interesting without becoming overwhelming. This meant that we had mental energy to focus on other aspects. We really played up the dynamics. It was great to hear such contrast.
The symphony gave away ten tickets to the Music Museum by having gold stars in the programs. I feel disconnected when we have contests and giveaways because I never know who the winners are. It would be very impractical to have people run up to the stage like the Price is Right but it sure would be fun. The concert ended with Jack, the conductor, giving some announcements and regaling the audience with some updates. One of those announcements was that the next concert is November 14th at 3pm!
On to other matters, I apologize for not updating last week. I always struggle concert weeks since so much more of my time is taken up by playing music. It seems I might need a definite deadline. Every Wednesday will be the day that this blog should update. I have also slacked on researching what is going on behind the scenes. There should be some activities being planned. I will seek that information out. Lastly, there will be an announcement going out to see if any other people associated with the symphony are interested in posting.
Chandler Symphony blog 