SymphonyGroupie's Blog

Keeping our chops up

Symphony Groupie — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:49:22 +0000

Our first summer reading rehearsal was a refreshing distraction from a sweltering summer weeknight last Tuesday at Crestwell School. It didn’t take long at all for the symphony to find its groove. Within minutes, we sounded just as tight as we do mid season. We were fortunate to welcome a few new participants as well. It appears we may be gaining a new cellist, trumpeter, horn player and violist and they are all welcome additions. Keep an eye on our website’s Our Orchestra page to see who has joined us for the 2011-12 season. As our schedule continues to expand (due to the demand for our performances, I might proudly add) so must the orchestra. That means we need YOU at our next reading rehearsal. If you currently play an instrument or you played one proficiently in the past, we invite you to join one of the most dynamic community orchestras in the United States. The worst that can happen is, you’ll get to sit in on our Shostakovich No. 5 rehearsal and meet an incredible group of musicians. The best that can happen is, you’ll begin a rewarding new chapter in your artistic life. Our next reading rehearsal is being held on Tuesday, July 26th at Crestwell School from 7pm until 9:30pm, with light refreshments served afterward. Hope to see you there!

Serenade!

Symphony Groupie — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:47:04 +0000

I am convinced that the spirits of Frank Sinatra and Mario Lanza were channelled last night through the voices of two unbelievably talented vocalists. Singers like Sal Viviano and Kip Wilborn are exactly the reason well mannered, respectable ladies are reduced to sighing, batting their eyelashes and clutching at their hearts at concerts. Their easy, confident stage presences, Sal’s sultry crooning and Kip’s powerful tenor belt coupled with their dashing good looks are why I’m penning this blog now instead of having written it during rehearsal. How on earth could anyone focus on writing during a performance like that? Sal just oozed romance and I’m pretty sure Kip did Lanza better than Lanza did Lanza! When a girl is in the presence of that, she shuts her laptop and pays attention…

If last night’s rehearsal is any indication of what’s in store for Sunday’s audience, it will be an evening they won’t soon forget. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall is justifiably well on its way to being sold out again for this performance. Get your tickets while you still can. See you Sunday!

My Funny Valentine

Symphony Groupie — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:20:55 +0000

We are just a week away from the Gulf Coast Symphony‘s tribute to Frank Sinatra & Mario Lanza at Barbara B. Mann. In keeping with the themes of our upcoming concert and today’s romance, my dear friend and Gulf Coast Symphony cellist Julie Brueshaber was kind enough to share this link with me. Click HERE to visit Playbill’s blog and to hear Ol’ Blue Eyes croon a rendition of My Funny Valentine.

You still have a few hours before the sun sets on another Valentine’s Day. If you are still giftless (even if the gift is for yourself), you can visit our website to purchase tickets to this wonderful performance, starring two outstanding vocalists, Sal Viviano and Kip Wilborn.

Sunsets Past and Symphonic Sensations To Come…

Symphony Groupie — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:53:51 +0000

It seems that all of South Florida has “Sinatra Fever” this month. In just a few weeks, the Gulf Coast Symphony will perform Frank Sinatra & Mario Lanza: Together Again II starring Sal Viviano and Kip Wilborn at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Then yesterday, I saw on my Facebook page that the Miami City Ballet will also hold a performance of Nine Sinatra Songs on Valentine’s Weekend. If you love Sinatra like I love Sinatra (and Mario Lanza…After all, he IS the voice of South Philly) then get your fix all month long; next weekend in Miami and the following weekend, Sunday, February 20th, right here in Southwest Florida.

Speaking of amazing performances, last weekend’s Symphony at Sunset-Let’s Dance! was an outstanding success! We had perfect weather, a crowd of almost 1000 concert goers (not counting those that arrived by boat) and the orchestra sounded amazing! They even managed to pull off playing all the way through Danzon No. 2, even though the sun completely set about halfway through the piece. That, my friends, is no small feat! A million thanks to Pamela Templeton of Ft. Myers Toyota, “The Family Store” and to the Cape Coral Community Foundation for making this concert possible. You are true friends to the Southwest Florida arts community. If you stayed home last Saturday, check out what you missed here. Lucky for Southwest Florida, you’ll have one more opportunity to catch Symphony at Sunset on Sunday March 27th at Estero Park.

If you want to let your hair down with the Maestro, some of our musicians and our most dedicated fan club members, join us on Saturday, February 27th at 6PM at Gulf Harbour Country Club for our annual dinner and auction. Enjoy great food, live music by the Dixieland Strollers and don’t forget your beads, masks and feathers for this Mardi Gras themed night of fun and revelry! Looks like we’ll be seeing an awful lot of each other in the next few weeks!

Beach Boy meets Rhapsody in Blue

Symphony Groupie — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:00:45 +0000

We are four days away and counting from the Gulf Coast Symphony‘s GREAT GERSHWIN concert at Barbara B. Mann. If you, like many people, tend to put a band or composer that you’ll be hearing in concert in heavier listening rotation before the show, you may want to check out the Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin CD. My husband told me about it a few days ago and I’ve just now had the opportunity to listen to a few selections online. These arrangements of Gershwin genius are simply amazing. The bright, airy five part harmony that Mr. Wilson is so famous for married with Gershwin’s romance is a perfect musical

combination. I shall be flexing my iTunes card to purchase this gem today to complete my extensive Beach Boys/Brian Wilson collection today.

As wonderful as this album/CD is, nothing beats hearing Gershwin compositions being performed live by a full symphony orchestra. What luck! Southwest Florida can experience exactly that magic this Sunday at 7:30 at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall! We have two award winning guest stars, David Pasbrig and Jason Switzer, joining our orchestra onstage for the evening and for our season subscribers, you’ll have an opportunity to meet and mingle with our guest stars and the Maestro after the show at our subscriber appreciation dessert party. Finally! Symphony season is officially under way! See you Sunday!

My Violinist is Better Than Your Violinist…

Symphony Groupie — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:39:21 +0000

I managed to sneak out of my house for a little while this evening to listen to our Mendelssohn Violin Concerto rehearsal. In the four concert seasons that I have been a part of the Gulf Coast Symphony, I’ve never had an opportunity to hear our concertmaster, Jonathan Daitch, do much more than warm up before a rehearsal or concert. All I can say is, WOW! Our mild mannered, doctor by day, principal violinist is an absolute superhero when he performs a solo! Please come and hear him this Saturday night! The amount of talent hidden our community is astounding and the Gulf Coast Symphony is fortunate enough to attract so much of it.

For a little taste of what’s in store at our performance this weekend, take a peek at tonight’s rehearsal video. Can your violinist do THAT? Didn’t think so….And that’s nothing! He was just getting warmed up here. You wanna’ see what he’s really made of? See you Saturday.

Beethoven’s Belated Birthday…

Symphony Groupie — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:15:04 +0000

I am sadly renown for belatedly acknowledging birthdays. In keeping with birthday wish tardiness, I neglected to post a happy whopping 331st birthday to Ludwig van Beethoven on December 16th. In honor of Beethoven’s musical genius,Victor Borge‘s “straight man” and composer Leonid Humbro arranged the “Happy Birthday Song” in six of Beethoven’s style variations. These are so clever that I laughed out loud when I listened to them! If you click through no other link in these blogs (other than to purchase tickets to Gulf Coast Symphony performances, of course), please check this one out!

I intended to write a little bit about the fact that his Symphony No. 5 was associated with Allied victory during World War II, since the famous opening short-short-short-long notes of three quick Gs and a long E flat, are Morse Code for the letter V for victory. British civilians would listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony while hiding away in bomb shelters under London to gain comfort and strength while German planes dropped bombs above. Oh, the great irony of a German composer’s music willing the defeat of his country from so many years posthumous. Perhaps he had some sense of clairvoyance…

What makes more sense to write about now is his Piano Sonata No. 14, also known as his Moonlight Sonata. Why? Because last night we experienced a magnificent total lunar eclipse, visible from most places in the world from just after midnight until just after 6 in the morning. If anyone stayed up to watch this spectacular event that has only occurred one other time since 1638, this would have been the perfect piece of music to watch it by.

Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! Stay warm, celebrate whatever it is you celebrate and always do so with the inclusion of great music.

The Eye of the Beholder

Symphony Groupie — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:36:10 +0000

Many of you are gearing up for Christmas this week and next. We’ll all be shopping and cooking, wrapping and decorating. All the while, you’re probably humming music that feels “Christmas-y” to you. Strangely, I’m willing to bet that the playlists in your heads aren’t necessarily filled with all of the typical snowman and sleigh ride songs. When I lived in Philadelphia as a kid, it was about this time of year when my dad, from whom I acquired most of my music appreciation, was already sick to death of snow and cold and we were all a little bored with the same Christmas songs that kept spilling from our radios. So, I would sit on the throw pillow couch on the floor of my dad’s home office or I’d scrunch up in the tiny front passenger seat of his 1970something Alfa Romeo to accompany him on an errand run on a frigid Saturday afternoon and listen to, of all things, Beach Boys music during Christmas Break from school. The Warmth of the Sun was a particular favorite, with it’s balmy and tender five part harmony. We would listen to their Pet Sounds album over and over as well, deeply appreciating the symphonic component that is woven through the pop overtones, like fine gold thread through brocade tapestry. Crazy as it may seem, the Beach Boys remind me of Christmas, not Santa Claus is Coming to Town. So, I told you my story and I’d love to hear yours. Since Christmas music is in the eye of the beholder, what music makes you think of Christmas?

Speaking of Christmas, if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for the music enthusiast on your list, we do still have tickets available to the Gulf Coast Symphony‘s remaining Classical Access concerts and our entire Symphonic Sensations series. You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home to purchase them. Visit our website by clicking here to buy admission to any or all of our performances.

The Concerto So Nice, We Played it Twice.

Symphony Groupie — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:18:34 +0000

I am rarely left speechless, but I am literally sitting in front of my laptop with my chin in my hand, trying to find words to describe the Gulf Coast Symphony‘s performance on Saturday night. It was, without exaggeration, spectacular. Our guest artist, Emil Chudnovsky, captivated the audience with a riveting performance of Wieniawsk’s Violin Concerto No. 2. It commanded a standing ovation and yes, an encore of the third movement. In typical 19th century fashion, we gave our audience what it longed for; a repeat performance. In case you missed this spellbinding concert, you can purchase one of Mr. Chudnovsky’s CDs here, or you can watch a clip of his lovely guest performance at Crestwell School. (Pardon my video skills, please.) I hate to tell you, it’s not going to be the same as what we were treated to on Sanibel. It’s not Wieniawski, it’s not with the Gulf Coast Symphony accompanying and it’s not live, but it’s something…

In keeping with outstanding violinists, our own concertmaster, Dr. Jonathan Daitch is our soloist for January 8th at Anderson Theater. This time, be enraptured by performances of Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. This performance is just a month away. Make sure to get your tickets soon!

Lord of the Violin

Symphony Groupie — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:27:59 +0000

Many of you are aware that comedic actor Leslie Nielsen passed away yesterday. While lots of people posted quotes on Facebook and cited them on TV from his lines in movies like Airplane and Naked Gun, my “bestie” and Gulf Coast Symphony cellist Diane Coffman, reminded me of Mr. Nielsen’s role as Ryan Harrison, Lord of the Violin in the movie Wrongfully Accused. The opening scene is beyond hysterical! If you haven’t seen it before, check out that clip above. It’s not often that a violin performance evokes laughter like that…on purpose…Well, mine might, but that’s another story…

We’re less than a week away from the Gulf Coast Symphony hosting our own Lord of the Violin, Emil Chudnovsky. I do know that tickets are selling rather quickly to this much anticipated performance. If you haven’t purchased yours yet, you can do so here or by calling our office at 239-277-1700. For those of you with budding musicians at home, bear in mind that children under 17 are admitted FREE to our Classical Access concerts. These performances are the perfect introduction to live classical music, particularly for middle and high school aged kids. We encourage you to bring them along for an unforgettable and inspiring live symphonic performance.