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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

The volunteer Kansas City Civic Orchestra showcased some rare musicality all too often absent from amateur ensembles.  Under the musical direction of Christopher Kelts, the orchestra presented an enjoyable evening of two pieces by Bruch and Beethoven, one classic and one esoteric.

Violinist Sarah Gentry and violist Kate Hamilton were soloists for Max Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Op. 88 (arranged for violin and viola).  Bruch, like Brahms, was not a boundary-pushing composer.  His music, instead of being in line with Germany's turn of the twentieth century sound, looked back and composed in a Romantic idiom. Gentry and Hamilton did not push the boundaries of 'forward looking' performing either. 

They both played very well, but with little performance attitude.  Gentry did not once look at the audience and Hamilton was blocked-in between the first and second violins.  I thought hey looked a little like bored soccer moms.  Musically, they were strong however - aside from the occasional disagreement in intonation.  Hamilton's sound was especially robust and filled the Folly.  Some showmanship on their part would have helped the piece as well; there's a reason it isn't in the canon.  The Double Concerto is meandering - all round edges and perfectly pleasant.  It's enjoyable enough to listen to, but was instantly forgettable as soon as the final cadence was played.  The orchestra supported the soloists well with good balance and a solid foundation.

After the nonstandard Bruch, the orchestra moved to Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.  It's one of the master symphonies of the repertoire and the Civic Orchestra rose to the occasion.   There were some moments of woe, like some of tutti chords approached Psycho-esque abrasiveness in the violins, flubbed brass notes, and intonation in the cellos.  Christopher Kelts was relaxed, yet commanding on the podium. He paced the crescendos very well and rightfully pulled back the tempo a couple of notches on the scherzo.  The orchestra had a complete range of dynamics, a rare feat for volunteer groups.     

The second movement, "Marcia funebre," had some balance issue with the string triplets overpowering the wind solos.  There was clear evidence of a lot of devoted rehearsal time to the Scherzo.  Bowings were kept light and bouncy and the style and articulations were consistent across the orchestra.  Mary Schmidt sounded fantastic in her fourth movement solo.  Her sound was nimble and expressive.  Mood shifts were also navigated with aplomb and the energy level of the long piece remained engaged throughout.

On a special note, this was the culminating concert of the Civic's 51^st consecutive season.  Principal oboist, Richard Anderson and his wife, flutist Marylen Anderson have performed with the group for over twenty years and they will be leaving the ensemble as they'll be moving to California.  Kudos to their long years of dedicated service.    

REVIEW:
Kansas City Civic Orchestra with Sarah Gentry and Kate Hamilton
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Folly Theatre
12^th and Central Streets, Downtown Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kccivic.org

Top photo: Kate Hamilton.

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com