Contemporary Youth Orchestra @ Waetjen Auditorium
Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
From the heavens to the depths of the seas and several areas in between, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra and its founding music director Liza Grossman were superb travel guides for the first concert of their Sweet Sixteen Season Saturday evening. Back at Waetjen Auditorium at CSU after ending the previous season as Severance Hall with rocker Jon Anderson as special guest, the group sounded in mid-season form.
As is their tradition, there was a world premiere performance with composer present, along with a couple of older “standards” (sort of). A guest conductor and guest artists with several Cleveland premieres were also featured throughout the evening.
ARP 87 by Cleveland composer Monica Houghton in its world premiere led off the night. I’m not sure it was meant to be an overture but it served that purpose nicely, describing in musical language the new galaxies that inspired it: NGC 3080A and NGC 3080B. First catalogued in 1966, ARP 87 was really discovered when the Hubble Space Telescope first captured an image of it, with its dual identities. The music clearly described the two distinct entities, although I certainly couldn’t say which was which. One was rather other-worldly and ethereal in nature floating above its more earth-bound, almost plodding partner. It was all enjoyable and certainly worth hearing again and again.
Ms. Grossman’s teacher and mentor from her years at Interlochen Academy, David Holland, appeared as guest conductor in two works: the String Quartet No. 8 by Dmitri Shostakovich (arranged here for orchestral strings), then later in the program, And God Created Great Whales by Alan Hovhaness. In both works, Mr. Holland had the eager attention of the young musicians as he led them through these two knotty, yet totally-dissimilar works. There were innumerable gorgeous phrases from the string sections (not just individuals, but all together, sounding as one musician) in the former, while the brass and percussion had their chance to shine in the latter. All the musicians accounted themselves well, and the whale sounds were as intriguing as ever.
Principal oboist Joshua Lauretig demonstrated his considerable musicianship in the charming Concerto for Oboe, String Orchestra and Harp by the English composer William Alwyn. The work itself is piquant and insouciant by turns, and Mr. Lauretig was every bit its equal. He has a beautiful rich sound which was never muddled, but always clear and concise even in the very fast portions. There were lovely duets with viola, violin and harp along the way. After heaving a huge sigh at the conclusion, he was treated to a bouquet of flowers and a well-deserved standing ovation.
Most of the second half of the program was devoted to Project Trio — three young men now residing in Brooklyn, NY, but who met here in Cleveland at CIM in 1997. Greg Pattillo, flute; Eric Stephenson, cello; and Peter Seymour, double bass, have created their own unique sound, and written the music to accommodate it. That doesn’t keep them from performing music of other composers, not by any means. Nutcracker was a case in point. It was perhaps only 5 minutes in length, but readily recognizable as the popular (Christmas) ballet music, immersed as it was in jazz and salsa.
Their own music is, of course, geared to their particular amplified strengths: Mr. Pattillo excels in sound effects along with the music from his flute, while Mr. Stephenson’s cello sings the melody, and Mr. Seymour’s bass provides the rhythmic underpinning. All together, it’s pleasant, sometimes raucous, but always very rhythmically intense and infectious, gathering the listener in to the fun. Fast was just that – fast! Winter in June happened in Boulder, Colorado, but it reminded them of their time here, with the sudden onset of rain, thunder and lightning, then hail. At first they “thought we were back in Cleveland, but it was only June!”
While here, they lived on Random Road in Little Italy, hence the resultant suite by that name. The movements are titled The Puzzle, Adagio, Devine, and Pelea de Gallo, or Chicken Fight. That last movement did sound rather like you’d imagine such an event to sound, but I didn’t catch the connection to Random Road. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable, as was their encore Sweet Pea, influenced by Manhattan.
The long program closed with New Era Dance by Aaron Jay Kernis. It was commissioned for the 150th Anniversary of the New York Philharmonic in 2000, but premiered by the Baltimore Symphony. The composer had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1998, and for this piece combined a variety of sounds and rhythms in a somewhat uproarious and outlandish, yet festive work. The first impression is that of a parade through downtown Manhattan rush hour, complete with sirens. But then you realize it isn’t just Manhattan, it’s all the boroughs one by one. The musicians (including the men of the Project Trio who sat in for this piece) repeat the words “new era dance” in various pitches and rhythms before the piece just finally collapses into itself, sagging into nothing at all.
The audience was properly enthusiastic throughout the concert, with hoots and bravos for everyone.
For more information about the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, visit the website: http://CYOrchestra.org. To investigate Project Trio, their website is: http://WhatIsProject.org
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!Actually, I’ve just re-issued my very first published book (from Berkley in NY 1993) Secret Shores which is available now in regular print, plus large print and as a Kindle.
By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.
And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it here.