As we approach what many are predicting will be tough economic times, many will be looking for bargains. The Mainstage Theater’s production of the musical, My Fair Lady, offers one the chance to travel across distance and time for a very modest fee ($8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, playing at R.A Long Auditorium this weekend and next). The place is England and the time is 1913.

It is an England of rigid class distinctions based on income, education, language, and manners. The play’s protagonists, Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, are separated by all of the above. He is a priggish professor of phonetics, she is a crude (some might say earthy) Cockney flower girl from way over the other side of the tracks.

Professor Higgins makes a bet with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he can successfully pass off Eliza as a refined society lady by teaching her to speak with an upper class accent and training her in etiquette. My Fair Lady is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. The play illustrates the fatuousness of class distinctions and can be viewed as civilized class warfare. The transformation is successful, so successful that she rejects him and declares her independence.

As someone once said “The play’s the thing” and Pygmalion is the perfect set up for a musical adaptation. It provides several settings for marvelous songs and Learner and Lowe were up to the task: “With A little Bit of Luck,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On The Street Where You Live,” “Get Me To The Church On Time” (a personal favorite), and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” are all pop standards; many less familiar songs are of the same high quality. Big time critics have uniformly praised My Fair Lady. It had a long run on Broadway and was a very successful movie, winning eight academy awards including, best picture, best actor, best director, and best costume design in 1964.

The Mainstage production of My Fair Lady does the play more than justice. I’ve attended local productions of musicals for a number of years and often some of the singers are weak. This is a major musical with no tonally challenged singers. The singing performances ranged from good to outstanding, with Rachael Brown as Eliza Doolittle and Ian Mackey as Freddy in the latter category. All of the leads are talented singers.

There are some set pieces in the play (at Ascot, outside Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road and others) with a large number of performers on stage (57 or so). These scenes and were well staged. They were crowd scenes that didn’t seem crowded. For this, the director(s) deserve much credit. Thank you, Susan Donahue, Director and your assistants, Dan Arreola, John Fleshman, Tom Lee, Bathany Pithan, and Victoria Reinke.

Even in a musical acting is required, and all of the leads are more than up to the task. Rachael Brown as Eliza, Wes Harris as Higgins, John Pickering as Colonel Pickering, Michael McElliot as Eliza’s father Alfred all demonstrated acting chops as well as musical talent. Hey, everyone on the playbill was up to the task.

Stage management was excellent, the scene changes were smooth and the sets where very well designed. The movie’s costume designer, Cecil Beaton, designed stunning black and white costumes for the Ascot Scene. Costume designer Mary VanSickle deserves lavish praise for her re-creation in this production.

The music is, of course, terrific and the orchestra was up to the task, although they need to add some energy to the opening overture. The audience needs a circulatory stimulus for the three hours and fifteen minutes of first-rate, lively entertainment.

I have only minor quibbles with the effort. There always seems to be problems with the microphones. Some of Eliza’s dialogue was muffled while her singing was exceptionally strong. In the second act, even some of Higgins dialogue was difficult to hear, at least to these ancient ears. Ian Mackey was the only actor whose lyrics and dialogue were clear and crisp throughout.

My only complaint is that those damn Cockneys need to learn English! Boy, are they hard to understand.

Ed Phillips is a retired teacher, economic consultant and public employee. He taught economics at the University of Colorado, and was an adjunct professor at Linfield College and Clark College. He lives with his wife, Laurel Murphy, in Kalama. During their years in Alaska, the adventurous couple became avid subscribers to the Alaska Repertory Theatre. Ed describes himself as a musical theatre aficionado.

IF YOU GO:

My Fair Lady
Nov 14-22, 7:30 pm
presented by
Dana Brown Mainstage Theatre,

R.A. Long High School, Longview, Wash.

Info, 360-575-7133.

My Fair Lady, also to be performed Nov 23, 3 pm Final Performance

Rising Star Production’s

A Tale of Cinderella

Book by W.A. Frankonis; Music by Will Severin and George David Weiss;
Lyrics by George David Weiss

Columbia River Reader Arts Review

by Jennifer Cheney

Forget the traditional Cinderella story…this version is an Italian folk tale with style!

An appreciative crowd of about 200 attended the Friday (Nov 7, 2008) night opening night of Rising Star Production’s fall musical, A Tale of Cinderella, and were treated to an evening of creative dance, enchanting music and colorful visual delight.

Personally, I’ve always viewed Cinderella as being rather wimpy. Not this gal!  Cinderella (Debi Meyers) has real backbone in this story. After losing her mother (Jaycelaine Fortin) to illness and growing up with her father (Josh Larson), Cinderella (also known in this version as Angelina) is subdued by her new stepmother (Alexis Bloomfeldt) and stepsisters into a life of servitude. By choice, she often suffers in silence to protect her father, who is under a spell cast upon him by her stepmother by use of a magical amulet that once belonged to Cinderella’s mother. Cinderella harbors deep resentment for such ill treatment and shares this openly with the audience in her song “Some Sweet Day.” In an attempt to rescue her father, Cinderella at one point manages to briefly steal the amulet which her stepmother continually uses to bewitch her father.  But she is later forced to choose between keeping the amulet hidden from her stepmother, or returning it as the price of admission to the masked ball where Cinderella will meet the man of her dreams, Prince Nicolo (Robert Larson).

Basic elements of the story are present: Cinderella has a magical godmother (albeit not a fairy), attends the ball, loses a slipper, and has to be home by midnight.  But several premises are different; if Cinderella does not return home by midnight, her magical shoes will steal all the love from her heart. Her godmother, La Stella (Stacey Hunt Kelley), is a hearty Italian mama with a wooden spoon for a magical wand and a romantic weakness for her rather clumsy counterpart, Il Compari (Adam Pond), magical godfather to the prince.  These two create some nice comedy together – especially when dancing, as she is half his height. 

Also of particular delight are Cinderella’s two evil stepsisters, Moltovocce (Coren Idle) and Seppia (Erica Gonser). This pair sings harmoniously and has great comic timing, obviously having a great deal of fun creating mayhem for Cinderella with their bumbling hijinks.  Seeing them in action together reminded me of Nick and Fetcher, the sly and resourceful rats from the Dreamworks animated movie Chicken Run. 

And of course – like all good Cinderella tales, this story features a happily-ever-after ending. 

Set in Venice, Italy, the set for A Tale of Cinderella is tastefully decorated with a quaint, stone cottage-style charm. A low brick wall upstage frames the canal that carries passengers in a gondola. (This also provides some nice comic touches, as citizens frequently call for the gondolier just as one would hail a cab on the street.)  Functional street lamps create a warm nighttime ambiance. The streetwear costumes are beautiful and well-constructed, with soft, muted colors that enhance the timelessness of the surrounding village, while the ball costumes and masks are bright, flowing and elaborate.

On a technical note, lighting for this production seemed rather limited. This is likely due to too few lighting instruments available to create the different moods and areas needed for a stage this large. One particular scene taking place on center stage was unfortunately in too close a proximity to a set change happening on stage right.  Due to the angle of the available lighting, the movement of the set change was accentuated and caused some distraction from the actors’ scene. However, I must compliment the production staff on the very few overall set changes, which are typically found in abundance during musical productions.  The company made good use of their stage space without the need for excessive set changes that can really slow the pace of a show. 

Special kudos to choreographer Kristy Larson!  The large group dances are particularly creative and make excellent use of the deep and wide stage area. Although some of the actors’ synchronized movements seemed a bit off at times, this was likely due to “opening night jitters” that will fade as their confidence grows in subsequent performances.

While the music in A Tale of Cinderella is pleasant and enjoyable, much of it is multi-layered and complex.  The cast should be proud of their accomplishments here; it is apparent they, along with vocal director Laurel Moore, have worked very hard to create wonderful choral harmony with music that is complicated and even vocally challenging at times. But they also need to keep in mind that the large space tends to swallow soft voices without projection, or when faces are not directed toward the audience.  It was not clear whether there were stage microphones in use during the production. But I was impressed at how well the musical accompaniment fills the auditorium, especially employing only a piano (James Johnson) and an electronic keyboard (Greg Moore). 

 A Tale of Cinderella features a large cast, more than 35 actors, almost half of which are children. A seasoned actor and director, Rising Star producer Jueanne Meyers works well with kids and young adults, tapping their creative potential. She has effectively filled a much-needed niche in our community by offering positive, creative training opportunities for young actors who are unlikely to find similar programs locally until they reach high school.   

Overall, Rising Star’s A Tale of Cinderella is an enchanting story for young and old alike, and most importantly, for families to enjoy together.  A Tale of Cinderella continues at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22, and at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 15 and 22, at KHS Auditorium.  Tickets are $10 adults, $8 seniors and $5 children (with a $2 discount on adult admission for matinees). 

Jennifer Cheney has been involved in local theatre for more than 20 years as an actor director, stage manager, designer and producer. She works as a legal assistant and private investigator, and is a member of the Storytellers' Network. She lives in Longview.

If you go...

A Tale of Cinderella continues at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22, and at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 15 and 22, at KHS Auditorium.  Tickets are $10 adults, $8 seniors and $5 children (with a $2 discount on adult admission for matinees). 

Southwest Washington Symphony
Fall Pops Concert
Sunday, Oct 5, 2008
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, Longview, Wash.

IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND
By Fae Marie Beck

The Southwest Washington Symphony’s fall pops concert opened with a charming Suite for Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich.  The orchestra has come a long way under Heller’s leadership, and played with comfortable assurance.

“Bugler’s Holiday”, by Leroy Anderson was all one could anticipate.  The trumpet trio, Rick Kemp, Brian Smith and Byron Hanson, were thrillingly accurate in their delivery of this challenging piece.  Mr. Kemp was gracious in acknowledging his fellow players at the close of the piece.

“Lullaby of the Drums” and “Typewriter,” also by Anderson, gave the fantastic percussion section of the Symphony their moments of glory.  These pieces are quite entertaining and yet offer suspense:  will the players succeed?  They did!

For this writer, the entire program is in the shadow of “An American in Paris.”  Gershwin demonstrates his full, complete knowledge of the potential of the symphony orchestra.  Every section has the opportunity to display its brilliance.  The Southwest Washington Symphony mastered this complex and enchanting piece under the competent, inspired direction of Maestro Ryan Heller.  “An American in Paris” puts to rest any thought that Gershwin was a lightweight composer.  The orchestra’s performance of this difficult work was lush, luxuriant and overwhelming in its excellence and beauty.

Jazz lovers were obviously exuberant to hear the Northwest Jazz Orchestra.  The sound was tight, in tune, and had great blend.  The audience was wildly enthusiastic as it applauded “Mack the Knife.”  Each soloist excelled.  The program did not list the players’ names.  However, several players are from the SWW Symphony and many are current or retired public school band directors.

The final two selections of tunes from “West Side Story” and “Sophisticated Ladies” were sweet, nostalgic and brought back memories.  In these pieces as well as throughout the entire concert, the orchestra played with much attention to Heller’s direction.  There were beautiful dynamic colors and graceful tempo changes.

In the entire concert, it seemed that Heller had the orchestra in the palm of his hand.  The response to his direction was marvelous.

Fae Marie Beck

Area musician Fae Marie Beck served as organist at Longview's St. Stephens Episcopal Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Chehalis. She lives in Toledo, Washington.

For those of you who are in your early 20s and late teens, you could do worse than view Grease as a lesson in what “cool” meant for your grandparents during the Eisenhower era. Hot chicks, cool cars, and cigarettes were the necessary accoutrements of coolness. Though I must admit (being of that generation) most of us couldn’t sing as well as the principals in the cast of Grease being presented by the Shoestring Players at Olmscheid Auditorium, St. Helens High School in St. Helens Oregon. I’m assuming most viewers over six years of age have seen the movie or the play sometime, somewhere. It is often on TV. Therefore, I’ll dispense with a tedious plot description. Let’s just say cool guy meets hot chick, some misunderstanding occurs, but in the end cool guy really meets the chick.

Grease was first produced on Broadway in 1977 and was an immediate hit. The movie came out in 1978 to great success. The play has had several successful revivals on Broadway and is playing there now. (You can get tickets for $175).

It is easy to fathom the play’s success. The book, music, and lyrics capture the period perfectly and the music is great.

All these assets make for a great night’s entertainment if the production is well done. The presentation by the ShoeString Community Players passes the entertainment test with ease. The staging is clever, even if some of the delays between scenes are a bit long.

Now, let’s be honest, Grease is a musical, so its entertainment value rises or sinks with the musical staging and the quality of the singing. The ShoeStringers have done well on both counts. The leads can all actually sing and two can sing well, indeed. Seth Brock as Danny Zuko, the male lead, is an excellent vocalist, maybe better than excellent. He also has the physical characteristics (pencil thin) and dance moves necessary for the role. He fits my memory of a “greaser.”

Tabitha Rotter as Rizzo embodies the role physically and emotionally, and to top it off has a big, dramatic singing voice. The lady can sing!!! Her rendition of “There are Worse Things I Could Do” was a show stopper on Saturday night, and I suspect will slow down future performances, also.

Elizabeth Robbins as Sandy Dumbrowski is an able vocalist and scored very well on “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”

Kenickie aka Mike Cornell has the pipes to carry off the role, but I found it difficult to hear the lyrics to “Greased Lightnin’.” It could be a mike problem. Otherwise he is a greaser, through and through, and Scott Lowrey was the Teen Angel. Nice job, Scott.           

Everybody -- and I mean everybody -- proved more than able in the dramatic/comedy elements of the play. Both Patric Gump as Doody, and Joey Culp as Sunny had fine comic moments and reminded me of the types I avoided when I was suffering through high school in the mid 1950s.

Finally, every musical needs a band in the pits. “The Rydell Symphonic Band” was well pitted and played what must be ancient music to some, with style and verve. I felt like doing a dance step or two myself, but with arthritis and all, my wife prevented what might have become an ‘incident.”

I fail to see how someone could not enjoy themselves attending this production of Grease. I was happy to see a large audience clearly enjoying the experience. There were more than a few in the audience who viewed this production as a documentary on their youth, present writer excepted.

Ed Phillips is a retired teacher, economic consultant and public employee. He taught economics at the University of Colorado, and was an adjunct professor at Linfield College and Clark College. He lives with his wife, Laurel Murphy, in Kalama. During their years in Alaska, the adventurous couple became avid subscribers to the Alaska Repertory Theatre. Ed describes himself as a musical theatre aficionado.

If You Go...

The show has an upcoming matinee performance at 2 pm , July, 13^th).

Regular performances are on the 11^th,12^th, and the 17^th-19^th at 7 pm.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for youth (damn youth!)

REP
by Greg Atkins
Directed and Produced by Don Correll
Lower Columbia College Center Stage at The Pepper Theatre

REVIEW of OPENING NIGHT: May 20, 2008
by Caroline Wood

I have felt for a very long time now that what I love most about theatre is that it’s about life. Life can too easily become something we pass by or something that passes us by. Theatre is a place outside of time and when we sit in a theatre’s enclosed darkened space we are given an opportunity to see and hear and feel. I mean really see, hear and feel. This is what I expect from a good night at the theatre and it is what I got tonight.

REP, written by Greg Atkins, is a play about a young repertory company struggling to survive, fighting to live while coming to terms with endings. If stillness is sought, often it is movement that will take you there; the movement in this play is propelled by the shifts that happen when growth insists it is time. The play takes place in a theatre that had once been turned into a furniture store. The plumbing is bad and the audience is thin-- out of such things visions are born!

The crisp production of this play takes its audience on a journey that is often both delicate and sincere and sometimes raucously funny. Don’t get me wrong: the funny parts of this play are just as sincere as the deep, dramatic parts, which makes for a very smoothly-delivered whole.

The play opens with an almost bare stage with Diane Krane appearing as The Repertory group’s stage manager. Ms. Krane does a beautiful, convincing job as a stage manager who is well weathered in the ways of “behind the scenes” relationships, as well as the chaos of keeping things running smoothly. I like the way this actor brings a lot to her character without making it look as though she’s working at it. It puts audience members at ease and when I’m comfortable in this way, then I’m open and can relax into the play.

Next to appear is Christian Womack as Richard Townsen, the newest actor to join the rep group. He plays an actor who is at the top of his game; he keeps himself in top physical condition and puts himself through disciplined voice warm up routines before rehearsals and performances (which are funny and brings easy laughter to the beginning of the play). His character is always on time. Christian Womack, with his good looks and smooth acting, has no problem bringing his character to romantic reality. But he can get really angry -- this Richard Townsen -- and Christian Womack is smooth at erupting his character into fumes. It’s great when an actor has this range. I love to see it. Because we all, if we’re not robots, have these ranges in us and if we’re going to believe a character we must see him/her as human.

Caitlin Nolan brings honest, authenticity to her character, Anglea Delmonte. Anglea has the reputation of sleeping with most of the men she acts with and she’d be the first to tell you. As soon as she sees Richard Townsen she lets him know what she has on her mind.

I laughed when she asked him if he had a girlfriend. His reply (he’s obviously really attracted to her) is, “I don’t know.” The truth is he “kinda” does, but that doesn’t stop them. It doesn’t stop Anglea. Don’t dismiss Anglea as just being ‘easy.’ She is a complex character that experiences some major growth in this story. Ms Nolans’ beautiful, poignant speech at the end of the play brings this home wonderfully. Both Ms. Nolan and Rachel Fielding (as is natural for an actor to do backstage in their dressing room) remove their street clothes and put on their costumes…right in in front of us! Now for me, this is the stuff that anxiety-filled nightmares are made of. But these two stand before us in their underwear quite unabashed! Which is what good actors would do. Maybe next time I have that dream of walking down the street in my underwear, I’ll dream I’m an actor! Oh, and along with everything else that Caitlin Nolan is able to deliver, her delivery of comedy is perfectly timed.

Gabrielle Braman plays actor Rachel Fielding. Oh, the complex relationships these people have with one another! I would tell you more about who loves whom, but you’ve got to see it for yourself. All this would make your head swim if it were not for the fact that you are so gently taken by the hand and let feel the realness of their feelings and fears. Ms. Baman is really great at being funny and wise at the same time, a lovely combination in an actor.

Mike Rader as Mike Norris and Corey Farmer as Mel Whiteside are hilarious! The two are members of the rep group but want to go out on their own. Which they do. And you know they’re going to be successful because they have you in stitches laughing. What is so enjoyable about watching these two actors together is that their playfulness awakens the playful spirit in yourself. You find yourself laughing not only because they’re very funny, but because you’re feeling good. Isn’t that what comedy should be -- medicine? These two were generously dispensing it all night. And when it was time to get serious, these two were there, too. Great casting!

I first saw Seth McNally in Center Stage’s production of “The Foreigner.” I was impressed with him then and my opinion has only grown. Mr. McNally plays Ken Rothman, the artistic director of the theatre company who has put everything on the line to get this rep company going. He’s reclaimed an old theatre that was used as a furniture store, he struggles to make mortgage payments while at the same time tries to make sure his actors are okay. He’s the one that has to have the level head or else all would go sliding! Seth McNally brings an egoless, eloquence to his character by giving what he possesses to his character. No better gift can an actor bring to a character.

Mary Rayon designed costumes that brought authenticity to the play. The play’s action takes place from 1985- 1995. That 10-year span was subtly covered smoothly. The costumes seemed to grow from the characters. It was just like they reached into their closets and put on what they had.

Meghann Rice is a name that I’ve come to associate with smoothness. Things just seems to run smooth when Meghann is managing things. And Robert Cochran as Technical Director was right on cue.

High marks go to the Technical Staff Light Board Operator Nick Long and Running Crew, Le Shaun Baker and Richie Laursen.

Don Correll understands the theatre in a way that only someone who has lived it as long as he has can. I can’t help but think he must have a real passion for this play. I believe it shows in the care he obviously took in the directing of this play. I’m used to high standards from a Don Correll production. Tonight, I felt there was a deep affection threaded through the delicate garment of this play and I know that such delicate threads can easily get lost if they are not held and watched carefully. This play displays what draws me to the theatre. It is that complex and fragile and brave place that is the heart of the actor. It’s a heart that would break if it could not open. Thank you, Mr. Correll, for being so careful with something so precious.
Longview playwright Caroline Wood has written 13 plays, including “The Immigrant Garden,” showcased in New York Reader's Theatre, "The Open Book," and “The Orchard” and “Uncommon Wings,” both produced in festivals in New York. She enjoys being a member of The Columbia Theatre Guild.

Southwest Washington Symphony

May 20, 2008
by Fae Marie Beck

A full and appreciative audience heard a stirring concert May 20 performed by the SWW Symphony and 100-voice choir.  The occasion was a homecoming for area musicians and school administrators.  Honorary batons were presented to the superintendents of Longview and Kelso schools and to Christopher Leach, Donald Kirkpatrick and Clark Potter, products of the Longview school system.Thankful acknowledgment was expressed for the support of the music programs by the school systems and the community. 

Christopher Leach was the guest conductor of the Presto movement of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, featuring Donald Kirkpatrick, violin and Clark Potter, viola.  These three fine musicians are former students of Ray Clithero, longtime Longview public school music teacher.  How rewarding it is to see the fruits of the labors of these men. Potter’s viola tone was deep and lush.  Both men displayed virtuosity and intense involvement with the piece.  The audience expressed its pride enthusiastically. 

This piece is for strings, two oboes and two French horns.  Brian Huffman and Ron Joslin, French horn, played especially beautifully, redeeming the French horn section after some trying moments in the previous two concerts.

The concert opened with the tone poem, Les Preludes, by Franz Liszt.  The piece illustrates the many emotions we experience in life, including awareness of death.  The orchestra’s performance was sensitive and passionate.  Liszt gives each section a chance to shine, and again we are aware of the contribution of not only the strings, but the woodwinds, brass, harp and percussion. The woodwinds were mellow and sweet, especially Roxanne Knutson’s oboe.

I found it unfortunate to note that the acoustics of the R.A. Long auditorium lost much of their excellence in a past remodeling some years ago.  The reverberation is very small and the sound of the orchestra and chorus was not as robust as one would prefer.

After intermission, 100 singers joined the orchestra and brilliantly sang three choral works by Gwyneth Walker under the direction of Maestro Heller, who has much experience as a choral singer and conductor.  His brilliance in this arena produced wonderful singing from a group which had minimal rehearsal as one choir.  Gwyneth Walker’s choral compositions based on existing poems are dramatic, compelling and uplifting.  Heller’s work with the choir resulted in clear diction and marvelous, rich tone.  Not once did the orchestra overpower the choir.  Again, kudos to Heller.

The crowning glory of the evening was the performance of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Peter J. Wilhousky’s arrangement of this favorite American hymn is lush and emotional. We can only imagine the thrill Heller must have experienced in conducting both the orchestral accompaniment and the choir during this piece.  The audience rose to its feet to join the choir for the last chorus.  We were ecstatic.

The concert was a wonderful end to a full season for the orchestra and its audience.
###

On Sunday afternoon, April 20, 2008, an appreciative audience gathered at the Columbia Theater in Longview to hear the Southwest Washington Symphony under the direction of Ryan Heller.  We heard the work of two well-known Russian composers, and the guest young artist, baritone Seth Burns.

Maestro Ryan Heller led the orchestra with verve, energy, gusto and great sensitivity.  The quality of musical performance continues to improve under his leadership.

The Russian composer, Rimsky-Korsakoff (1844-1908), gives the listener an intense experience of the passion surrounding the Greek Orthodox celebration of Easter Eve and Easter Sunday.  Rimsky-Korsakoff used melodies from the Obikhod, a collection of the best known canticles of the Greek Orthodox Church.  This piece gave us many opportunities to hear the orchestra’s fine woodwind section.  Oboists Roxanne Knutson and Lisa Sudar, flutist Ellen Bercovitz, clarinetists Dick Uthmann and Kris McElroy-Weber and bassoonists David Taylor and Ray Clithero form a solid, dependable and accurate core for the orchestra.  Their playing is simply beautiful.

The audience was completely charmed by the baritone soloist Seth Burns.  His selection of three very different pieces was delightful and demonstrated the solid musical foundation he has achieved so far.  His performance was polished, his diction superb, his intonation accurate and he had a good grasp of his material.  Emotional depth, more shape in line and phrasing and more passion will come as this fine young singer matures.  It is thrilling to hear such a promising young man.  His development bears watching!

P.I. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, in F minor was the tour de force of the afternoon.  It is a huge, demanding work that stretched the orchestra.  Critics and musicologists describe the fourth symphony as a work of the mature Tchaikovsky.  Tchaikovsky states that the work is full of sadness and depression.  He says it demonstrates that we are victims of fate.  He admonishes us to look to our dreams and the happiness of others.  He uses waltzes and folk melodies to provide lightness.  Even so, the work is one of intense emotional drama.  This very difficult composition had its brilliant moments as performed by the orchestra.  The third movement’s pizzicato by the strings brought smiles to our faces.  Again, we had the pleasure of listening to the various woodwinds. And the fourth movement was clear and quite well done.  There was cohesion and accuracy in the brass sections.  The entire orchestra seemed to bring fresh energy to this movement.

The audience rose in standing ovation to express its gratitude for an afternoon of outstanding music.

The Symphony's next concert is scheduled for 7:30 pm, Tuesday, May 20, at R.A. Long High School, Longview. For ticket information, call Deena Martinsen, 360-577-7919.
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