February 17, 2024

Well that was certainly fun....we had the guys from “Classical Mystery Tour” with us in Lansing on Friday. They have been doing their symphonic Beatles show for nearly 30 years, and there is a reason for that longevity. It is a great show!
 
We had a terrific turnout at the Wharton Center, and they clearly loved it. I think for those of us in the orchestra, a big part of the appeal was that the orchestral arrangements were nearly verbatim from what was done on the original recordings, so there was a great authenticity to the sound, and it is, of course, wonderful music.
 
A big shout out to our Principal Trumpet, Neil Mueller for his spectacular Penny Lane trumpet solo. Also kudos to our Principal Second Violin, Florina Petrescu (who played Concertmaster for this), Ben Penzner, Principal Viola, and our Principal Saxophonist Joe Lulloff for the great solos in “Twist and Shout.” Feel free to fact check me on this, but I have a strong hunch that may have been the first time for a viola feature in that tune.
 
Next for me, a trip back to see my friends in Baton Rouge for a concert with Yo Yo Ma…looking forward to that!
 
NEXT UP
 
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
Yo Yo Ma, cello
 
Pennington Great Performers in Concert
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 8:00 p.m.
 
River Center Theater for the Performing Arts
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
 
CHABRIER                   Espana Rhapsody
MENDELSSOHN        Fingal's Cave Overture
WG STILL                     Lenox Avenue: The Crap Game and The Flirtation 
COPLAND                    El Salon Mexico 
DVORAK                      Cello Concerto
 
#yoyoma #classicalmysterytour #batonrougesymphony #lansingsymphony