May 11, 2025

With Friday night’s concert, the Lansing Symphony’s 2024-25 Masterworks season is in the books. That was season number 95 for us…nearly a century of bringing great music to the Lansing area. It was number 19 for me, closing in on two decades.
 
The magnificent pianist Benjamin Grosvenor headlined the evening with the Beethoven Emperor Concerto, a work he told me was relatively new for him. You wouldn’t know that from his performance. His approach was well-honed, beautifully conceived, and brilliantly executed. His encore, Ravel Jeux d’Eau, was as captivating as I have ever heard that work. He drew colors from the inside of the harmony in a way I didn’t even know was possible.  There was a collective breath holding of the audience at the end, no one wanting to add any extra ripples to the water’s surface.
 
We said farewell to two long-time LSO musicians who are retiring after this season. Violist Linda Gregorian and our Principal Trombone Ava Ordman are stepping down and will both be greatly missed. Their contributions not only to the orchestra, but to the musical community locally and at large have been remarkable each in their own way. We were all fortunate to share the stage with them for these many years.
 
Our program opened with Under Sea and Above Sky by LSO’s Composer-in-Residence Jared Miller. This work is a paean to Mother Earth, her strength and her fragility. It is a deeply moving work. As I am finding to be the case with Jared’s music in general, the live experience multiplies the impact many fold. His music sounds great in recordings, but his unique work with color and atmosphere add a whole new dimension in the concert hall. Dvorak Symphony 8 closed the program. Our LSO musicians brought soulful, robust and vibrant playing to this, the most Bohemian of his symphonies.
 
I had a very special surprise after the program. As I was packing up, an usher knocked on my dressing room door and said there were some people in the lobby asking to see me. I followed her out and waited. Soon, filing through the door, were 10 classmates from my hometown. I could hardly believe my eyes. I have known some of them since second grade, and haven’t seen most of them in decades. It was a most memorable moment, and I’m still smiling.
 
We have one more orchestral event this season. Next week are our vitally important Young People’s Concerts on Wednesday. We love to see all those kids enjoying their time with the orchestra and the great music.
 
Up Next:
 
May 14, 2025
10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Young People’s Concerts
 
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
 
#Benjamin Grosvenor #lansingsymphony