August 8, 2023

Goodbyes are often difficult. Saying farewell to the musicians of Chautauqua’s Music School Festival Orchestra is always one of the tough ones. Each summer we spend several weeks together in a high-pressure situation, presenting very demanding concerts back to back. It becomes a very close working relationship. The orchestra personnel changes every summer, but the conductor has been the same for 26 years.
 
The last concert is always a mixed bag of emotions as is often the case in the music profession. On the one hand, there is a sense of relief that the intense run is over and successful, but then there is also some sadness that it has ended. We’ve just begun this relationship in June, gotten into a nice flow, and now it is no more. But we all know that going into it. It’s part of the design, and as it should be.
 
We closed the season with two works. The first was Copland’s suite from his ballet Billy The Kid. Conducting Fellow Ryo Hasegawa led the orchestra through a polished and lively reading. I took the second half of the concert with Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 5. The orchestra rose to the occasion and then some.
 
I’ve got a little breathing room now. I’ll use that time to start learning, or re-learning the repertoire for the coming months.  Also, we have auditions for some openings in the Lansing Symphony in early September, then we kick off the new LSO season shortly after. First on that program will be a work by our new Composer-in-Residence Jared Miller…a lot to look forward to!
 
 
NEXT UP
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
 
Claire Huangci, piano
 
September 14, 2023
 
Jared MILLER  Surge and Swell
RAVEL              Piano Concerto in G
DVORAK.          Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

#lansingsymphony #clairehuangci #chautauqua #musicschoolfestivalorchestra