Photo by: Ryan Lumpkin
The Lamont Symphony Orchestra performed its opening night concert last Tuesday, Oct. 11, in Gates Concert Hall, welcoming Nancy Cochran as the new director of the Lamont School of Music and featuring works by famous composers such as Johann Strauss, W.A. Mozart and Jean Sibelius. The orchestra is made up entirely of Lamont students in various years of academic study.
Students only had four weeks to learn the music for Tuesday’s program, with only two ensemble meetings a week. Brown emphasized how important individual practice is for the musicians: “Each player has to be responsible for preparing on their own.”
The concert, which lasted 90 minutes, nearly filled Gates Concert hall, with more than 800 people in attendance. The performance featured associate conductor Travis Jürgens who led the Overture to “Die Fledermaus,” a German opera by Johann Strauss.
“Travis Jürgens is a very enjoyable conductor to work under,” said Andrew Brown, a cellist in his final year of study for a Bachelor’s of Music degree from Lamont.”He brings so much energy to the performance.”
Following the Overture was Mozart’s “Horn Concerto No. 3,” featuring soloist Susan McCullough, a horn instructor at Lamont. McCullough stepped in to play the part just two weeks before the concert, as the scheduled soloist suffered an injury.
“We were originally supposed to play another horn concerto by Strauss,” said Brown. “But with only two week’s notice for Ms. McCullough, it was decided that the Strauss piece be dropped.”
Despite the short notice, McCullough played skillfully to rousing applause.
The symphony closed the concert with a modern piece, “Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5,” which contrasted the rest of the concert. Under conductor Lawrence Golan, who fought Congress copyright rulings last week, students played this complex piece with precision. This unique piece was received well by the audience.
After Tuesday’s concert, students will immediately begin learning the music for “Faust,” the joint opera production between the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and the Department of Theatre.
“My part is 50 pages long, and the entire score for the opera is 800 pages,” said Brown. “We only have three weeks to prepare this time, and the rehearsals are going to be much later at night.”
The 2011-2012 season at Lamont runs from October to May. There will be eight more concerts in the 2011-2012 season, including “Faust.” The final concert is “Adventures at the Sea,” scheduled for May 31. All performances by Lamont Ensembles are free to attend, although students may need to pick up tickets at the box office in the Newman Center before-hand, as these concerts fill up quickly. Opening night for the production of “Faust” will be Nov. 3, with tickets starting at $11.
