2008 Woodie Awards
Symphony orchestra gives dramatic performance
By Dara Salley
Rocket Assistant Life/A&E Editor
Issue date: 12/9/05 Section: Entertainment
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"Last year we did Dvorak's "New World" Symphony," Davidson said. "It was hard work and the symphony really grew from the experience. I wanted to continue the trend this year of playing pieces that would challenge and stretch the players."
The concert started out with the string piece "Rhosymedre" by Ralph Vaughn Williams. "The piece by Vaughn Williams was really born to life as a piece for an organ," Williams said. "It is based on an old Welsh hymn and was subsequently orchestrated, rewritten for an orchestra."
The next piece was the "Horn Concerto" by Wolfgang Mozart. The piece featured an extensive and complex solo by horn player Jeff Frankenstein.
"My favorite piece was definitely the Mozart piece. As a horn player I love Mozart. I play all his works. It was also a pleasure to hear Jeff play," said Holly Huff, a freshman music education major.
However, the piece was not without its challenges for the orchestra.
"The Mozart piece was challenging because we had to find a light style," Davidson said. "Mozart requires very accurate playing. There is a fun fact about this 'Horn Concerto' by Mozart. It was originally written by him for a friend and he wrote on the original score all kinds of insults teasing his friend."
The horn solo by Frankenstein was a major highlight of the piece.
"I try to highlight a student soloist every year," Davidson said. "I spoke to Jeff last year and told him that I wanted him to do a solo, and we went over different pieces and finally found one that fit. It was a nice opportunity for Jeff and challenged him. The purpose of the horn concerto was to put Jeff in the spotlight"
The crowded auditorium was completely silent and enthralled during the 40-minute piece. The performers received a standing ovation after their arduous performance.
"This piece is by far the largest and most demanding that this orchestra has ever taken on," Davidson said. "It is a challenge finding a full-length symphony that will work well with the ability levels of the players. I wanted to do this piece in the fall because in the spring we tend to lose a lot of players. Many of them are music education majors and go student teaching and are unable to play. I wanted to play this piece while we still had the group to do it."
The symphony orchestra was composed of an eclectic group of performers including students, faculty, members of the community and professional players.
"In addition to students we have various members of the community in the string section," Davidson said. "We have one high schooler in the cellos. Former president G. Warren Smith plays the violin. I hired a handful of professional players to come and give the string sections a little zest."
Huff said the performance was solid.
"I haven't had extensive experience with symphony bands, but this orchestra is really good," Huff said. "We have a really solid brass section and gave a really good performance."
