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All-Freshman Orchestra to Perform Works of Barber, Mozart and Respighi in "Freshman Extravaganza," Sunday, September 26, 3:00 p.m., Warner Concert Hall
Story and photo by Michael Chipman
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An all-freshman ad hoc orchestra, organized and conducted by Amitabh Rao, a senior conducting student from New Delhi, India, will perform works by Barber, Mozart and Respighi on Sunday, September 26, at 3:00 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall. This year's concert is the second one of its kind for Rao, who conducted a similar concert last year.
Rao decided to organize the "Freshman Extravaganza" last year when he was monitor for ensemble auditions. "I thought it would be a neat idea to get these guys together," he says. "It's inspiring to see all the young faces at the auditions, so we organized a group last year to perform Rossini's overture to the Barber of Seville and Schubert's Symphony No. 5. It was exciting to work with this fresh, new energy. That energy is something that can lessen after the first couple of years, so I wanted to get them during the first couple of weeks when they are doing it for fun."
Rao was ideally situated to organize the group while monitoring ensemble auditions. "I asked them individually when they came in for auditions," he says, "and most of them wanted to do it. They thought it sounded exciting and it's a terrific performance opportunity for brand new Conservatory students."
The first piece on the program is Barber's Adagio for Strings. "I chose the Barber Adagio because it's a beautiful piece with great arch and unity," says Rao. "I actually have not known of it very long. Growing up in India, I did not grow up with classical music so I can approach this piece with fresh ears. There are so many ways to do this piece -- a lot of differing interpretations and corners you can turn differently. I want to do things no one else might have done."
The second offering will be Mozart's concert aria for tenor and orchestra, "Per pietà, non ricercate" with tenor Leif Aruhn-Solen, a first year Artist Diploma student from Sweden. "When I recently heard this piece for the second time, I was blown away with how pathetic and well written it is -- in a way that only Mozart can write for the voice," says Rao. "It is absolutely beautiful and dramatic within a classical framework. The transparent orchestral writing -- integral to the piece -- is the perfect compliment to the voice.
"I love Leif's approach to the piece," says Rao. "He doesn't need to do that much to express the music because it is in his voice and his personality, always sung with beauty and taste."
The concert will end with Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances," which Rao says are arranged from music originally written for lute -- perhaps not the most obvious of transpositional choices, but, says Rao, "In the hands of a genius orchestrator, anything is possible. It's wonderful how he characterizes the dances and how it sits on an orchestra. It is light, happy and festive, especially the last movement."
Rao concludes, "The point of this concert is to have fun, more than anything else. Of course we will perform with a serious attitude toward the music, but sometimes we forget why we make music in the first place -- the impulse to create and the desire to sing. I often think about what it was like when I was very young and I first wanted to sing and my first impulses to make music. If we can capture that impulse and keep going back to it, the music we make will have a lot more influence."
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