Northwest Symphony Orchestra
We enjoyed a fine concert last Saturday evening performed by the Northwest Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Anthony Spain. Part of the orchestra’s mission is to perform works written by northwest composers. The first piece was Concerto for Horn and Orchestra by Samuel Jones. Jones was Dean of the School of Music at Rice University and is currently Composer-in-Residence with the Seattle Symphony. I don’t generally enjoy contemporary classical music, finding it often too dissonant for these ears. Not so this piece, which was very listenable. The French horn soloist was Jeffrey Fair, assistant principal horn player for the Seattle Symphony.
The second piece was Prayer of St. Gregory by Alan Hovhaness. This was a relatively short piece by one of America’s most prolific composers. Its trumpet solo part was played by 12-year-old Natalie Dungey. With perfect aplomb, her playing was exact, her tone bright and clear. Afterward she took her place in the trumpet section of the orchestra.
This was the one hundredth anniversary of Hovhaness’ birth. Mr. Hovhaness lived in this area and I can remember seeing him in our local super drugstore, writing music while he waited for his wife, who was shopping. Probably his best-known composition is Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain. This work was premiered by Leopold Stokowski and the Houston Symphony.
The orchestra finished with the superb playing of Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, the New World. The orchestra performed wonderfully and the audience responded with a standing ovation at concert’s end. A wonderful evening for little old Burien.
The second piece was Prayer of St. Gregory by Alan Hovhaness. This was a relatively short piece by one of America’s most prolific composers. Its trumpet solo part was played by 12-year-old Natalie Dungey. With perfect aplomb, her playing was exact, her tone bright and clear. Afterward she took her place in the trumpet section of the orchestra.
This was the one hundredth anniversary of Hovhaness’ birth. Mr. Hovhaness lived in this area and I can remember seeing him in our local super drugstore, writing music while he waited for his wife, who was shopping. Probably his best-known composition is Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain. This work was premiered by Leopold Stokowski and the Houston Symphony.
The orchestra finished with the superb playing of Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, the New World. The orchestra performed wonderfully and the audience responded with a standing ovation at concert’s end. A wonderful evening for little old Burien.
2 Comments:
I am happy to have read your comments on music, whether inspired by a live performance or memory brought to mind by an obituary. I find my life enriched by frequent attendance at life threatre and music performance.. I also read obituaries on a daily basis.
The horse related comments are welcome as well, and not only because they always bring to my mind a former library friend from New York Public Library, for whom betting on horses was a long standing and substantial hobby. I invariably want to know about the other interests of those with whom I now or once shared life defining interests.
I am still working as a librarian, now in Alaska, and continue to store the comic books you sold me in the early seventies, at one TankCon or another. I moved the collection from Oregon to New York to Alaska, along with mimeographed and other recollections of past encounters.
Steve Johnson
My gosh, a voice from the distant past. It was good to hear from you, Steve. Alaska, huh? Whereabouts? Alaskans surely must read a lot during the winter months. I sold my comic collection for a goodly amount.
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