West Side Story, Candide, and the Leonard Bernstein experience

By Bob Adamcik, KSO percussionist

A classical musician who was known around the world and recognized in popular culture? The 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein gives us a chance to look at his life and career as an unprecedented force in music and society as a performer, conductor, and teacher. He was also a civil rights activist who was an antiwar protester.    

I grew up watching him conduct the New York Philharmonic in Saturday afternoon Young People’s Concerts. This was in the days before cable and hundreds of channels, so I’m sure he reached a bunch of other kids as well. Bernstein was energetic and smart and found ways to talk to kids on their level.  He even managed to play songs by The Beatles.  The shows are worth watching and are easily available on YouTube. If you get a chance, you should check out his lectures at Harvard about music. They are designed for both musicians and non-musicians, but Bernstein manages to explain some pretty heavy concepts in music.

In addition to the TV shows that I saw, the movie version of “West Side Story” won the Oscar for Best Picture so that many people were aware of Bernstein’s music. It was a musical where people hate, fight and get stabbed on stage and it was exciting. I grew up listening to the soundtrack as a kid, and can still perform “The Jet Song” scene verbatim. It was the first time most people had heard Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics, although he is now known as the greatest Broadway composer/lyricist of our time. Much of my musical vocabulary has been shaped (for better or worse) by Bernstein’s use of the musical interval of a tritone. It’s the first two notes of the Jets’ whistle and the first two notes of the song, “Cool.” How was I supposed to get that out of my head and avoid it in college when I was trying to pass classical theory? I always thought the interval sounded, well,… cool.

Classical composers are not well known by the general public anymore. Bernstein and Aaron Copland were probably the last two who were widely known. But in the 70’s, ABC’s late night talk show (“The Dick Cavett Show”) used the main theme from “Candide” as its own theme. People eagerly anticipated the two composers' next pieces and discussed them. When Bernstein’s “Mass” premiered in 1971 at the opening of the Kennedy Center, it was talked about on national TV. Some people were shocked, some people loved it, but the public knew about it. And in it, Bernstein had addressed faith, serious doubt, and included elements of rock and roll. By this time, he had spoken out about civil rights, the war in Vietnam, and the crisis in religious faith. He was relevant, even though he was composing music for orchestras, and his relevancy continues now. I can’t think of another composer who shows up in two comedy routines almost 60 years apart (Stan Freberg’s “United States of America” and John Mulaney’s new Netflix comedy special, “Kid Gorgeous.” )

Part of Bernstein’s mission was to integrate different types of music and life to describe the 20th century. His music dealt with integrating different cultures, doubts about the existence of God, whether there was a need for the war in Vietnam, and the anxiety that many people felt in their everyday lives. This meant that even though some people had a hard time with Bernstein’s music, he managed to stay in the limelight. He was a teacher, conductor, composer, and even an activist. There’s a great article in The Guardian about all of his different roles.

He provided inspiration to many composers and performers. If you’re a fan of “Hamilton”, as I am, then you realize that there are a lot of similarities between Lin-Manuel Miranda and Bernstein. In “Hamilton”, Miranda calls Alexander, “a polymath”, someone who is good at a lot of things, and the description fits Bernstein himself.

 "I always treasure the chance to play his music because I feel that it reaches something special in all of us. It touches the hopes, fears and loves that we all deal with. " 

Toward the end of his life, Bernstein was renowned for his conducting, especially his recordings of Mahler’s symphonies. I’d always hoped to be able to perform with Bernstein, and I had friends who were able to play in festivals with him. I wasn’t far enough along in my career to have that opportunity when he died in 1990. Getting to play “West Side Story” twice here in Knoxville is a highlight of my career, although it’s a workout for every musician, singer, and dancer. I had the pleasure of watching my daughter dance to part of his musical “On The Town” in New York City last summer, and it’s an amazing memory I will keep with me. I always treasure the chance to play his music because I feel that it reaches something special in all of us. It touches the hopes, fears and loves that we all deal with.  It’s a pleasure to be part of a staged production of Bernstein’s “Candide” and especially, getting to work with the Clarence Brown artists.  It’s on a different stage, in a different setup, and we’ll get to create a completely unique world for this show. Come join us for some great music, in a new and exciting staging.

About Bob:

Bob Adamcik currently plays timpani on the Knoxville Symphony’s Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series and is the Principal Percussionist for all other services. He has been a featured soloist with the symphony on marimba and xylophone, and has played with the Dallas and Ft. Worth symphonies. He has recorded with the Dallas Wind Symphony. After growing up in San Antonio, Bob graduated from the University of North Texas, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s Degree in Percussion Performance. He has taught at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State and has presented master classes at UT, Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee State and North Carolina School for the Arts. He has also performed in music festivals from Montana to Maine.

Drumroll, please...

KSO percussionist Bob Adamcik shows us just one way he cares for his instruments. Watch it here.

"When I love listening to a piece of music, I sometimes have to remind myself that a person has taken what is basically a machine and created something beautiful with it. As you watch and listen to the Knoxville Symphony, you’re hearing the sound of wood and metal machines with levers, pedals, keys, and pegs that create sounds that reach the audience. That’s part of the magic of music, taking an object that can’t produce something on its own, and giving it life. 

Because the percussion instruments are fun to watch during a performance, I’ve recorded a time-lapse movie of me changing the head on one of our timpani. The heads are made of mylar, and they cost about $100 per drum. It took me about 40 minutes to remove the old head, replace the lubricant between the drum and the head and put the new head on."

About Bob

Bob Adamcik currently plays timpani on the Knoxville Symphony’s Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series and is the Principal Percussionist for all other services. He has been a featured soloist with the symphony on marimba and xylophone, played with the Dallas and Ft. Worth symphonies. He has recorded with the Dallas Wind Symphony. After growing up in San Antonio, Bob graduated from the University of North Texas, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s Degree in Percussion Performance. He has taught at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State, and has presented master classes at UT, Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee State and North Carolina School for the Arts. He has also performed in music festivals from Montana to Maine. 

This post authored by Bob Adamcik.

Bernstein's 'Candide' coming this fall

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Clarence Brown Theatre celebrate the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth with a production of his Broadway smash Candide. 

Candide
Aug. 31 - Sept. 16, 2018
Clarence Brown Theatre Mainstage
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville  

Featuring hit songs "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow," Candide is a modern theatrical setting of Voltaire's timeless satire.

Tickets are available now EXCLUSIVELY to KSO and CBT subscribers at a special discounted rate. Call the KSO box office at 865-291-3310 for more information.

This production will be directed by Calvin MacLean, Producing Artistic Director of the Clarence Brown Theatre and conducted by Aram Demirjian, Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

About Candide

In Bernstein’s musical derived from Voltaire, a young man wanders “the best of all possible worlds” only to find war, destruction and loss.  Separated from his beloved, Candide’s hard-won survival ends in a joyous reconciliation. 

While a number of derivative works came from Voltaire’s satirical novella released in France in 1759, Leonard Bernstein revamped the musical Candide several times after its London premiere in 1956.  When Bernstein’s “final approved” version of this comedic, poignant story reappeared on Broadway in 1989 with a full score, a revival was born. This version continues to be revived and performed in opera and professional theaters and is the score and libretto the KSO/CBT will perform in 2018, known as “the Scottish Opera version.” 

“Leonard Bernstein at 100” Centennial Year Celebration

2018 is the Centennial year for Leonard Bernstein, who was born in 1918, honoring his 100^th birthday with more than 1,000 events taking place on six continents.  Orchestras, museums, ballets, and arts organizations around the world are celebrating and performing his works during the calendar year in celebration of his contribution as a composer, conductor, educator, activist, cultural ambassador, and humanitarian. Bernstein’s mark on the world of the arts in the past century will last for generations to come.

           

The mission of The Roy Cockrum Foundation is to award grants to support world-class performing arts projects in not-for-profit professional theaters throughout the United States. The foundation’s intent is to support the vision of particular artists and to expand the capacity of theaters to realize the scope of that vision. 

Other grant recipients of The Roy Cockrum Foundation include such prestigious theaters as Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Washington DC's Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and The Acting Company of New York.

KSO Pops 2018-19 Season will 'Fly you to the Moon!'

Just Announced...The Knoxville Symphony Orchestras' News Sentinel Pops Series lineup for 2018-2019.

The KSO 2018-19 Pops Season includes Music of Frank Sinatra, Music of Pink Floyd, Disney's Mary Poppins, and Leslie Odom, Jr. from Broadway's Hamilton, a role for which he won the Tony Award for Best Male Actor.

You have the chance to see Hamilton's Leslie Odom, Jr. perform in concert with the KSO...do not throw away your shot!

All concerts take place at 8:00 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium unless otherwise noted. View the KSO 2018-19 Concert Calendar here.

This post authored by the KSO communications dept.

Gershwin, Price, Copland- This concert takes the cake

This week's Masterworks performances are sure to take the cake. The KSO 2017-18 season comes to a close this Thursday and Friday with "Rhapsody in Blue." Performances are at 7:30 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre with a pre-concert chat at 6:30. Tickets here.

Pianist Michelle Cann joins the Orchestra for not one but two piano concerti - both Gershwin's infamous "Rhapsody in Blue,"  and 'Piano Concerto in One Movement' by Florence Price, a lesser known composer whose work is beginning to make a come back.

The program opens with an upbeat treat, which will also serve as a teaser for the full production later this year. Leonard Bernstein's Overture to Candide is a 5-minute concert opener that featuring melodies from the work, has enjoyed an independent life as one of the most popular concert pieces of the second half of the 20^th century. 

Since the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin became recognized not only as an important composer of Broadway and popular melodies but a force to be reckoned with in classical music.  Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue remains one of the most beloved and performed concert works by an American composer.

Our guest artist this week, Michelle Cann, holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she later joined the staff as a Collaborative Staff Pianist. 

Florence Price was the first African American woman to have her music played by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony performed her Symphony in E minor in 1933. She lived from 1887-1953 and wrote symphonies, arrangements of spirituals and folk songs. More of her music, including violin and piano concertos, was not discovered until after her death.

You don't want to miss the second half of this program, Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, which includes Fanfare for the Common Man in the fourth movement, which many will recognize. This was the first symphony Copland composed, written just after World War II and is referred to as the "Great American Symphony."

Copland describes the first movement as “broad and expansive in character”.  The second movement serves the function of the Symphony’s lively scherzo.  Copland describes the slow-tempo third movement as “the freest of all in formal structure. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man serves as the introduction to the main portion of the Symphony’s finale, which journeys to a majestic close.

This post authored by the KSO Communications Dept.

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The gift of music found in unexpected places

Music entertains as well as uplifts our minds, bodies, and spirits. The KSO's Music and Wellness program places live musicians playing therapeutic music in healthcare settings - including hospital rooms. 

Alan Carmichael, a well-known marketer and music lover in Knoxville, was a recipient of the gift of music.

Alan writes:

"I had quadruple bypass surgery at Parkwest Medical Center one year ago. My recovery is going fine. I was in the hospital for several days following the operation and was visited by Stacy Nickell, cellist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Stacy played, and visitors to other patients on the cardiac floor, including children, came to my room to listen. When you go through a life-altering experience like bypass surgery, you become very emotional. When Stacy played Ashokan Farewell, it brought tears to my eyes. Overall, it was a very uplifting experience I will never forget."

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is raising funds for the KSO Music & Wellness Program via CrowdRise by May 11th.  All online donations given through THIS LINK ($10 or more in the next 10 days) will help the KSO become eligible for a $25,000 grant. Please consider supporting this unique program which brings live, therapeutic music to those who need uplifting.

Click here to find out more and to support the Music & Wellness Program.

Alan Carmichael helps clients communicate effectively in his role as president and chief operating officer of Moxley Carmichael. In this role, he creates and executes up-to-date communications strategies is based on firsthand experience in advising clients on proactive public relations programs, as well as preparing for and managing crises. Alan is the 2018 honoree for Outstanding marketing Professional presented by the American Marketing Association's Knoxville Chapter. 

Alan is strongly connected to the community and has served on many nonprofit boards including the Board of Visitors of the College of Communication & Information, the East Tennessee Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Ijams Nature Center, Dogwood Arts Festival. He and his wife, Cynthia Moxley, are generous supporters of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in addition to the entire arts community. Moxley Carmichael is the underwriting sponsor of the KSO's Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series.

This post authored by the KSO Communications Dept.

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Another Grand Opera for Knoxville

Don't let that apparent gap in the KSO's concert schedule fool you-- we are still plenty busy preparing for Knoxville Opera's production of Aïda this coming Friday and Sunday. The grand finale of KOC's 40th anniversary season will be a proper Grand Opera. The demanding vocal score is in good musical hands with soprano Michelle Johnson (as Aïda) and Dongwon Shin (as Radames) headlining.

Giuseppe Verdi stands the test of time as one of the most important opera composers ever. His composing career of 68 years nearly doubles Mozart's entire lifespan. His own lifespan straddled those of Beethoven and Stravinsky. Operas from the 1840s, such as Macbeth and Nabucco, are just as stageworthy today as his final opera from 1893, Falstaff.

Early financial success at La Scala and other important European opera houses enabled Verdi to focus later in life on what came to mind, rather than be bound to commissions or the conventions of the day. There was a formula to many of his earlier works; I'll admit as a performer that there is a certain predictability to some of them, but their appeal is more about the depth of emotion and sense of drama. That said, Aïda was in fact a commission; the Khedive of Egypt paid him the equivalent of $30,000 (1871 dollars-- about $200k today) to create something to open the new Cairo Opera House. This premiere was conducted by the famous double-bass virtuoso, Giovanni Bottesini, and was an instant international success.  Aïda (pronounced eye-EE-da) is more symphonic, with several “movements” rather than a collection of arias, choruses ensembles. The musical language here is much freer and there are many tempo fluctuations, but they are not taken to the garish extreme of some of Puccini's works. If you're still not convinced yet that you should attend, I have two words for you: Triumphal March.

Don't miss us at the Civic Auditorium, Thursday at 7:30 or Sunday at 2:30. Or both!

Bringing healing music to hospital patients' bedside

By the end of her 18 weeks of treatment, cancer survivor Lorie Matthews had spent 6-8 hours a day for a total of 84 hours in the chemotherapy center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. 

                              

Lorie said:

"I was so blessed by an amazingly supportive community that cheered for me along the way.  I received encouraging words, personal visits, thoughtful gifts, flowers…and music.  

Live music, a bedside visit from someone I had never met, an unexpected advocate with the transcendent power to quiet the ever-present hum of monitors and chemo pumps.  A musician who believed that he could make my day better and was willing to invest in my healing. That visit from a KSO musician came at the half-way point of my 18–week chemo journey and became a reminder that I could get through this and that a whole community was believing, not just in me, but in every survivor the music touched."

The KSO's nationally recognized Music & Wellness Program uplifts the spirit of the patients who experience live music in hospital rooms, lobbies, chemo bays, and has been shown to aid in recovery and healing. Click here to find out more and to support the Music & Wellness Program.

The KSO is eligible to win a grant of $25,000 from the Gannett Foundation. To be considered, the KSO must raise $6,000 from crowdsourcing by May 11th.

The minimum donation is $10, and all donations must go through this CrowdRise link to be eligible. Thank you for helping spread the word. 

This post authored by the KSO Communications Dept.

Time Flies...

How is it Monday already? I was going to write about the UnStaged performance, wasn't I? Well, I only missed that deadline by a week. Oy, it must be April.

Quite a variety of things happen between the monthly Masterworks concerts. Sunday, April 22 saw the Chamber Orchestra make its annual trip to Southwest Virginia Community College in Cedar Bluff, VA. SWVCC's yearly Festival of the Arts focused on the heritage of the region's residents, and our concert's repertoire ran a wide gamut of styles, from well-known names like Mozart, Copland and Dvorak, to rarely heard composers like Hamish McCunn and Charles Strouse. Fiddler Arvel Bird shared a unique collection of tunes on both fiddle and Native flute, reflective of his Native American-Celtic heritage. Cedar Bluff is a long way from here, but the ride is unforgettably beautiful and we are always welcomed very warmly there.

Immediately on the horizon is the final Q Series production of the season, Wednesday at noon at the Square Room downtown. The program will have more integration of winds and strings than on any previous “Q” show. On a concert where the Principal String Quartet and the Principal Woodwind Quintet are featured, no piece for either group's specific instrumentation will be played. Principal Oboist Claire Chenette will perform Arachne for solo oboe, by Helen Grime. Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 for Bassoon and Flute will follow, and a trio by Michael Haydn for Horn, Viola and Bass will take us up to the intermission. Concluding will be Carl Maria von Weber's effervescent Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, with Gary Sperl joining the Principal String Quartet. This is a tour de force for the clarinet, and the third movement Menuetto Cappriccio: Presto is guaranteed to bring a chuckle.

There are some Storytime concerts sprinkled in here and there, as well as performances at the Symphony League's Showhouse at the Tennessean Hotel downtown. Preparations are afoot for the Knoxville Opera Company's May 4 and 6 production of Aïda. Oh, and hey, don't let's forget about the Youth Orchestra Association's Spring concert coming up on April 29 at 7:00 at the Tennessee Theatre! We are everywhere.

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Last Sunday, “UnStaged: Flight” brought a kitchen sink of music both specifically and tangentially about flying. On a rainy night at Cirrus Aircraft (located in Alcoa, TN by McGee Tyson airport), 'shine from Old Forge distillery flowed freely and all present were wowed by the personal aircraft displayed by our host, Cirrus Aircraft.  

Now boarding.....

Our bass section, Yan Peng and Steve Benne

Unofficial KSO photographer Stacy Miller finally gets her OWN picture taken...

The finale was Michael Gandolfi's As Above. 

April Schumann

I sit here in an advanced state of readiness for the three concerts in four days (and their six rehearsals-- these concerts don't just magically happen!) that shall take place this coming weekend, sandwiched around the Knoxville Opera Company's Rossini Festival. What are we looking at?

April's Masterworks concerts will be conducted by guest maestro Edwin Outwater this Thursday and Friday. Guest soloist for the Mozart D Minor Piano Concerto will be Fei-fei Dong. Featured in the final scene and end credits of the film Amadeus, this is probably THE most popular Mozart piano concerto- come on out and see why! The Mozart will follow Violent, Violent Sea, composed in 2011 by Missy Mazzoli. The large orchestra version of the Mazzoli work was premiered by the Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller, who was a finalist for music director of the KSO when Lucas Richman was hired. Marimba and vibraphone figure prominently in this roiling, turbulent work. Maestro Outwater led his home orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, in VVS's Canadian premiere in January of 2013.

Closing the program will be Robert Schumann's  Symphony No. 2, from 1846. When you think of symphonists, perhaps Schumann (pronounced "shoo-mon") isn't the first composer to come to mind, what with music by these dudes named Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky around. Taken as a whole, though, Schumann's four symphonies establish him as a distinct voice in a crowded field, unlike Brahms, whose symphonies try just a little too hard to be the second coming of Beethoven. I guarantee you, right at this moment 22 KSO violinists are up to their noses in the notes that make up the exciting 2nd movement scherzo (pronounced “scared so”). I have heard many violinists play this at auditions and frankly, my heart goes out to them. This is music that would aptly accompany a kayak trip down Class IV (or higher) rapids. 

That's Thursday and Friday nights, 7:30 at the Tennessee Theatre. Tickets here. More about Sunday's "Unstaged" performance in a bit...

Flying on Instruments

The busy month of March is on its way out, and April's offerings include the final UnStaged performance of the season. This will take place on April 15 at 7:00 at the hangar (I am not making this up) of Cirrus Aircraft, off of Alcoa Highway near the airport. The repertoire for that concert is quite diverse in style and configuration, with a Bach Violin Partita and Varese's Densities for solo flute, all the way up to Respighi's The Birds. As before, drinks and food will be served. Yes, March was turbulent at times, with things seemingly going on a wing and a prayer. At other times, we were on cloud nine, flying high. I know what you're thinking, taxes are due right around the date of the “hangar concert.” Well, if you're the punctual type, you'll be done with your taxes and UnStaged will be a celebration. If not, well heck, file for an extension! Either way, pick yourself up at the airport with “UnStaged: Flight.”

Prior to UnStaged, there will be plenty to sing about with Pops and Masterworks.

                            

On Sat, April 7th at 8:00, Michael Cavanaugh's “Billy Joel and More” tour will land at the Civic Auditorium. Tickets and info here. On the Thursday and Friday before UnStaged, guest maestro Edwin Outwater will conduct Mozart's beloved D Minor Piano Concerto K. 466, featuring pianist Fei-Fei Dong. Finishing up will be Schumann's classic Symphony No. 2.

                              
Fei-Fei Dong will perform Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor on April 12-13, part of the KSO Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series. 7:30 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre.

I daresay that the Scherzo of this symphony is what most people will remember. The fiendishly difficult violin parts are staples of the audition repertoire and the piece is a textbook example of moto perpetuo. Overall, it's a lovely, rarely-done work whose time has come-- the KSO's last performance of the Schumann 2 was under the baton of Kirk Trevor in October of 1992! Maestro Outwater will be seeing quite a different orchestra from that of 26 years ago.

A treat for the ears: Mandolin Concerto to hit national airwaves

Coming to airwaves near you!

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will be featured on a broadcast of AMP's Performance Today radio show on Wednesday, April 4. To hear it, visit wuot.org and click "listen live" at 4 p.m. ET on Channel WUOT-2. This broadcast will be available online for 30 days following.

On Wednesday, April 4, Performance Today will feature WUOT-FM's Afternoon Host, Garrett McQueen, as guest host. Garrett will feature the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's performance of Jeff Midkiff's Concerto for Mandolin and Orchestra, "From the Blue Ridge," a 20-minute piece inspired by mountain music traditionally heard in this region.

 

American Public Media's Performance Today is the nation's most popular classical music radio program. This two-hour program:
- is broadcast on nearly 300 public radio stations across the country each week, including WUOT 91.9 FM on Sunday evenings 
- reaches approximately 1.4 million listeners each week
- features live concert recordings that can't be heard anywhere else
- is based at the AMP Studios in St. Paul, MN but is frequently on the road with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations across the country.

About the performance: Concerto for Mandolin & Orchestra

- Composed by Jeff Midkiff
- Conducted by Aram Demirjian, featuring Jeff Midkiff on solo mandolin
- Premiered in 2011, this piece was performed by the KSO in November 2016
- Recorded at the Tennessee Theatre, part of the KSO Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series
- This broadcast is made possible by the support of Visit Knoxville (www.visitknoxville.org)

Thank you to the generous support of Visit Knoxville for making this broadcast possible. Thanks to WUOT-FM 91.9 Afternoon Host Garrett McQueen, who is also the KSO's Second Bassoon.

Here is a link to WUOT.org (click "listen live")

Here is a link to more about Garrett McQueen

Here is a link to more about Jeff Midkiff, composer and mandolinist

About the Concerto

Mandolin Concerto "From the Blue Ridge" (2011)

Jeff Midkiff was born in Roanoke, VA in 1963. The first performance of the Mandolin Concerto, "From the Blue Ridge," took place at the Roanoke Performing Arts Theater, Oct. 3, 2011, with the composer as soloist, and David Stewart Wiley conducting the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. In addition to solo mandolin, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings.

My love for playing the mandolin, and a lifetime of doing so, began to take on new meaning and motivation after decades of performing also as a clarinetist. I felt a deep-seated desire to bring my favorite instrument in line with orchestral experience. I truly enjoy the color, language, and structure of the symphony orchestra, and many years as a clarinetist made me familiar with it. At the same time, I enjoyed a highly improvisational approach to the mandolin that was uniquely my own. I had struggled to keep the two -- orchestra and mandolin -- a safe distance apart. I knew I could say something with the mandolin on an orchestral scale. Deep down, I wanted to bring my most natural companion to the orchestra -- two seemingly different worlds together.

The first movement begins with the mandolin on swirling sixteenth notes, setting the stage with excitement and anticipation. The commission for the piece came to me in November when the falling leaves drew this opening scene. Indeed, the Blue Ridge's beauty and importance would form the piece. The middle of the first movement moves to major tonality with woodwinds in a waltz-like dance before a return to the opening theme.

The lyrical second movement draws on more typical and familiar bluegrass melodies. Having grown up in Roanoke, moved away and returned, I wanted the concerto to echo the emotions associated with home, and with going home. To get there, I looked no further than the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Roanoke Valley. "Wildwood Flower" by The Carter Family and Bill Monroe's "Roanoke" are the thematic inspiration.

The third movement is an upbeat, exciting, spontaneous and dynamic affair. It draws strongly upon jazz and bluegrass themes in a series of ideas in a "controlled jam session" -- one idea smoothly leading to another. Every section of the orchestra has a role to play with the particularly expanded use of percussion setting up the different groves."

-- Jeff Midkiff, www.jeffmidkiff.com

This post authored by the KSO Communications Dept.

Dvorak's Best Chamber Work-- and Big Ears

Wow, what a life-affirming week we had with Carmina. As predicted, two very full houses took in a great production, and the tunes are still in yourall's heads, amiright? Things aren't slowing down any, as this week brings William Shaub and Friends to KMA on Wednesday and Thursday, and Big Ears painting the town red all weekend!

Last summer, Concertmaster William Shaub and I were discussing repertoire for his series, and he mentioned an All-American concert to close out this year. He had sonatas by Ives and Copland, and needed a “closer.” I wasn't sure where to turn, until I remembered that Antonin Dvorak wrote his fantastic, op. 97 Viola Quintet while living in Iowa! Between it and the “American” QUARtet, the Quintet is in some ways the more “American” of the two; a link between the earlier folk songs of Stephen Foster with the “wild West” sounds of Copland, Roy Harris and Randall Thompson. Dvorak's smooth synthesis of the pentatonic, African-American tonal language with his own Bohemian inflection is a joy to hear.

The last Knoxville performance of the Dvorak for which I can account, after what I am going to call due diligence, was in 1988 at the OLD Knoxville Museum of Art. This was in the building that now houses the Knoxville Chocolate Co. (next to the current KMA). It's a shame the work has been neglected for lo these many years, considering its provenance, and considering how many times the other American-bred works get performed. That 1988 performance was one of the first Knoxville Symphony Chamber Players concerts. I am proud to have seen the KSO's Chamber Music presence grow to what it is today. Violists Katie Gawne and Eunsoon Corliss, Associate Concertmaster Gordon Tsai and I will be joining Will for the Dvorak, and pianist Kevin Class will collaborate on the Ives and Copland at 7:00 Wednesday and Thursday night. At the “new” KMA.

Tickets here. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

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Sadly, neither the Men nor Lady Vols will be occupying our attention next weekend, but take heart; all the more time to spend at the Big Ears Festival, which takes place this coming Thursday through Sunday! The KSO's strings will be presenting a theatrical meditation conceived by bass-baritone Davóne Tines and composer Matthew Aucoin, Were You There, at the Bijou Theatre, Palm Sunday at 1:00. The piece, written last year, draws its texts from Negro spirituals, Walt Whitman, and Handel. It's a production of the American Modern Opera Company, co-directed by Zack Winokur and Aucoin. There may be some runners from the Knoxville Marathon still wending their way through the streets, so keep in mind that some streets may be closed on your usual route downtown, especially if you are brunching first.

While the Big Ears Festival is eclectic beyond compare, those seeking an experience that leans more traditionally classical can start with this performance. People have been asking what would be a good itinerary for a one-day pass that includes our Were You There. For my money, staying right at the Bijou for a performance by Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei at 3:00 should be interesting to anyone regardless of their musical taste. Abigail's Americana are legendary, and pairing them with Wu Fei's mastery of the guzheng, a traditional Chinese zither, should mate East with West in a boldly unique way. Following that and a brief nosh (or two) at one of downtown Knoxville's many eateries, I recommend heading for St. John's Cathedral. There the St. John's Choir of Trebles and Adults will present Bob Chilcott's Saint John Passion in the Cathedral's rich acoustic.

Steve Reich's intricate Quartet will be performed by Nief Norf at 6:15 at the Tennessee Theatre. I am listening to this right now, and it's very engaging, But it's NOT a string quartet; think two pianos and two vibraphones. Then, with an incredible 15-minute turnover time (7:00 is what it says… your mileage may vary), by all means check out the Bang on a Can All Stars' 30th Birthday show. You'll find that their music shares common ground with the KSO's recent 21st-century programming.