Brassy orchestra proves its mettle
Toolbox
By JIM LOWE Staff Writer - Published: May 3, 2009
SAXTONS RIVER — Vermont is home to several fine community orchestras and on Friday, in a concert at Vermont Academy, the Brattleboro Music Center's Windham Orchestra prove to be one of, if not the best. The concert also introduced a 15- year-old cellist, whose performance proved truly impressive.
The major work on Friday's program (which was repeated on Saturday at the Putney School) was Schumann's passionate but dense and complex Symphony No. 4 in d minor, Opus 120. Music Director David Runion successfully led his mix of amateur and professional players is a performance that was compelling and often beautiful. Although there were plenty of ragged edges, particularly in the strings, it was always clear where the music was going and what it was doing.
The anchor was an excellent brass section. With only one professional among them, they were able to create nearly seamless sounds, providing a powerful and beautiful force, essential in the symphony. Although lacking the cohesive sound of the brass, the winds played deftly and effectively.
Other than during some rough rapid-fire or high passages, the strings had a fine sound. There were some particularly beautiful moments in the strings during the slow movement. Runion and the Windham Orchestra not only made sense of the powerful but difficult music. they made compelling music.
Another person who created compelling music was cellist Rebecca Haymes, the Hanover (N.H.) High School sophomore who won this year's student concerto competition sponsored by the orchestra. Haymes performed Haydn's Cello C Major Cello Concerto with a natural musicality and virtuosity that belied her age.
Haymes' precise articulation and intonation, plus a particularly beautiful and sensual sound, all contributed to this compelling performance. Only her discomfort with the long phrasing in the Adagio, the slow movement, reflected her youth. A student of Hanover cellist Linda Galvan, Haymes was a joy to hear.
The program opened with the Prelude "Die Meistersinger von Nünberg," a beautifully pompous work. Here again, the brass proved its mettle and, with the aforementioned reservations, the orchestra delivered a grand performance.
Runion and his Windham Orchestra gave Friday's audience, a fine concert experience.
Windham Orchestra
For more information about the Windham Orchestra and other programs of the Brattleboro Music Center, go online to www.bmcvt.org.
24