Symphony Sparkles In Milestone Concert
65th anniversary is marked in gala style
By SALLY VALLONGO
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Onstage and in the audience of the Stranahan Theater, everyone was in the mood for a gala last night at the Toledo Symphony's 65th Anniversary Celebration.
Planned as a kickoff for next season, when Toledo's hometown orchestra marks this big milestone, it drew a large and enthusiastic crowd - many of whom had helped determine what was performed during the more than two-hour program in a month of voting.
From responses to performances of musical excerpts by Holst, Mozart, Shostakovich, Williams, Bernstein, and Respighi, among others, it was clear audience members approved their own choices.
Under a canopy of bright colored swags, the players themselves - all of whom had donated their services for the occasion - were equally vivid. Basic concert black was sparked by bright-hued gowns, the occasional red bow tie, and the flashing blue garlands that were everyone's pass to the big post-concert party onstage.
Even conductor Chelsea Tipton II caught the spirit with bright red vest and bow tie.
Local news talent Fred LeFebvre (WSPD radio), Rick Woodell (The River), and Sashem Brey (13abc) traded off continuity and introductions.
In my privileged seat between the double basses and the tympani, I was able to hear the music at its point of origin within the various sections, a different sound indeed from what reaches patrons .
Onstage, the music is immediate, electric at times, and accompanied by actions players take to bring their instruments to life with breath, friction, and percussion. The attention of each and every musician to the score, whether or not he or she is playing, is absolute and sincere. The sense of community is intense.
From my vantage point I realized that Tipton, the symphony's resident conductor, may seem to merely wave a baton when viewed from the hall. But facing him, it was clear that every part of his body - his arms, his torso, his animated face - works together to convey the direction and intention needed to propel this huge body of individual players to sound as one.
And how delightful to watch Samantha Biniker, a young Toledo pianist on a steep trajectory to a promising career, involve herself with the orchestra in a sparkling rendition of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. Even though we only heard the first movement, her growth as a performer is evident in her mature and confident style.
Soprano Carol Dusdieker did double duty, singing two very different songs - "Think of Me," from The Phantom of the Opera and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz.
Tipton graciously yielded the podium to George Isaac, a major donor who had won the bid to conduct Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" march, but then was unable to attend. In response, the symphony played the patriotic standard very nicely in autopilot.
And for the closer, Respighi's "Pines of Rome" finale, Toledo's inimitable Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps added serious brass to the performance from their stations throughout the hall.
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Contact Sally Vallongo at: svallongo@theblade.com.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080413/ART10/804130422.