It's the Smart Place to Be!

When a musician is completely engrossed in a piece everything around them disappears. You lose yourself in the music. It's a lot like reading a good book. You forget your surroundings and join a world that, while only words, is completely real in your mind. For this reason I have always loved reading. I also love libraries. (And librarians... I married one!) The library has always been one of my favorite places because you can walk out with a stack of books, a few CD's and a movie or two, peruse them at your leisure in the comfort of your home and then go back and repeat the procedure all for FREE.

The Knox County Public Library system is great. First of all, it's huge: in addition to the main library downtown there are 17 branches all over Knoxville. If the branch in your part of town doesn't have the materials you want, it's not a problem. You can reserve them and have them delivered to your chosen branch. If you need a book that the KCPL doesn't own they will try to get it for you from a different library system.

The library offers many programs from story time for children (including musical story time with members of the KSO!), to family game night, to computer workshops for adults. There is something going on every day at the library and the variety of programs is so wide there is something for everyone.

I am a veteran library user, but until very recently my experience with KCPL's website was limited to reserving books and checking the due dates on my books. Boy was I missing out.

The library's media collection is called Sights and Sounds. They have a sub-page online called The Music Room. It has all sorts of databases you can access online from the comfort of your home with your library card. There is a source for classical music scores, African American Song, a classical music library with audio you can listen to right at your computer, the Smithsonian Global Sound for libraries, and several others. There is a link to their collection of CD's by local artists, local music venues (including the KSO!), and a list of upcoming events by AC Entertainment. The Sights and Sounds web pages are a great way to stay on top of the Knoxville music scene.

Programming

The art of programming a concert is more involved than you would think. In the KSO, Lucas works out programming, at least in a skeletal sense, many seasons ahead. He considers things such as important anniversaries for composers as well as the orchestra, how long it has been since the orchestra has performed a piece, and audience requests. He decides what he would like the orchestra to play and then takes his choices to a committee for suggestions.

Many times pieces are paired together on a concert because they work well together timing wise and they don't clash in tonality. There isn't usually any deeper meaning between the pairing. The concert we will perform tonight is different. The first piece on the program is Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3. After the Mozart Piano Concerto and intermission we will play Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. Bach and Mendelssohn are very much tied together as composers.

J.S. Bach (1678-1750) and Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) were composers during two very different eras. Bach was the king of Baroque while Mendelssohn composed during the Romantic era. During Mendelssohn's life Bach's music had fallen out of fashion and was rarely played. Never the less, Mendelssohn studied Bach's music as a student and influences can be found in his symphonic writing. His fugal passages, particularly, showcase his study of Baroque music. In 1829, Mendelssohn staged a performance of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, a piece which hadn't been performed since before Bach's death. The success of this performance was largely responsible for reviving Bach's popularity.

I'm looking forward to tonight's concert. I like every piece we are playing on this concert series. The Italian Symphony is one of my all-time favorite pieces, Navah Perlman is playing beautifully, and the Bach Brandenburg is just fun to play.