August 23, 2024

My list of “life’s most memorable musical experiences” got a new entry this week. Last night was the second of two performances of Wynton Marsalis’ epic cantata “All Rise” with Chautauqua’s Music School Festival Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, soloists, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra of which Mr. Marsalis is the Artistic Director and a member of the trumpet section.
 
As memorable as the performances were, the rehearsals were equally enlightening. It’s always great to have the composer on hand at rehearsals, but when the composer is also performing and highly involved in the rehearsal process, some real magic can happen, especially when that composer is Mr. Marsalis.
 
This work is written in a unique musical language. Naturally, there is the element of jazz, but there are also many other musical cultures and styles woven into its fabric. This work is not just a “jazzy symphony” with standard stylistic clichés and a swinging style. This is a work of great profundity and artistic intent. The jazz element, the folk element, the world music elements are all deeply baked into the language in a similar way that the USA is a melting pot of world cultures. It is work of integration, introspection and celebration of the rich cultural fabric in which we live. It is also reflection on the journey of life itself, its joys, sorrows, trials and triumphs.
 
Sharing the stage with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was its own kind of thrill too. These guys are phenomenal players, great musicians and wonderful colleagues. I feel so fortunate to have been able to stand in front of them and soak up such artistry.
 
I also want to give a shout out to the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Adam Leubke, their director. This work is immensely challenging for the singers. They brought great style, a beautiful sound and wonderful energy to the evening.
 
If you are interested in hearing our performance, it will be featured in an upcoming PBS documentary on the Chautauqua Institution, and the entire concert will be broadcast in a separate program.
 
This concert was the final one for the 2024 MSFO, a bittersweet moment for sure...sweet in the reflections on a wonderful summer of music making, but melancholy in that we are all going our separate ways today. While many of our paths will cross individually again in the years to come, that specific orchestra, those people, will never again gather in its entirety to make music. Such is life…
 
Next up for me, the 2024-25 season opener of the Lansing Symphony!
 
October 3, 2024
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Tommy Mesa, cello
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
7:30 p.m.
 
Gala FLAGELLO            Bravado
MOZART                      Symphony No. 31 “Paris”
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
ELGAR                         Enigma Variations
 
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