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The final concert of Conservatory Artist Series (formally the Signature Series) at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance each school year provides an opportunity for the school to showcase some of its finest students in a performance featuring the full Conservatory orchestra and often, choruses and soloists. I have enjoyed many such evenings, but few have made such an impression as Saturday's performance in White Recital Hall which capped the Conservatory’s 2010–11 year.

The combined forces of the Conservatory Orchestra and Choirs (Conservatory Singers, Conservatory Concert Choir, and Bella Voce), under the direction of Robert Olson and Robert Bode, respectively, performed at professional quality, opening with Francis Poulenc’s challenging but rewarding Gloria.  The 110 voices of the choirs sounded wonderful in this charming piece, offering clean and precise vocalism, carefully attuned to the sudden shifts in rhythm and harmony which feature in this provocative representative of the genre. Capable of soft and lilting tones as well as sharp and penetrating singing, the choirs under Bode’s direction gave a strong an account of the composition.

The soprano soloist was Conservatory student Heather Phillips, fresh off her assignment as the coquettish Barbarina in the Lyric Opera’s recent Marriage of Figaro. Her clear timbre carried easily over the ensembles, yet were delicate and nuanced when appropriate.  If a few of her lower notes were lost among the boisterous accompaniment, she shares that issue with many singers of much greater experience. She was especially arresting in the exposed vocal solos, carrying off with aplomb the soaring, uncomfortably high melodies that have derailed many other sopranos.

Bode’s conducting showed a keen sensitivity to Poulenc’s romantic, if piquant, harmonies and brought out the broad contours of this piece with a sensitive hand.  In the more humorous moments (yes, this Gloria has some) the instrumental and choral voices were appropriately bouncy and rhythmic, but overall the piece had the feel of sweeping lushness which Poulenc so brilliantly captured while at the same time retaining modern sensibilities.

All in all, it was an exceptional performance, warmly received by the audience.

In the concert’s second half Olson led the orchestra alone in a fine rendition of Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Fourth Symphony. This brilliant work, which, like many Tchaikovsky scores, alternates between broad, luxurious melodies and furious crescendos with blaring climaxes, calls for an orchestra to use all of its expressive resources. The Conservatory musicians were well up to the task.

The woodwind soloists and brass and percussion sections sounded ringing melodies and stirring fanfares, while the strings provided a constantly shifting undercurrent of support. The orchestra accommodated every shift of mood with sensitive nuance. Particularly impressive were the string players’ precise pizzicato passages in the Scherzo, its fast-paced rhythms ending with charming whimsy.

The percussion and brass sections shone in the crescendo of the Finale, providing the needed sense of anticipation as the movement gradually built to its famous climax, the brass blaring without blasting, never an easy thing for horn players to do.

The audience members leapt to their feet at the end, giving the Conservatory musicians an appropriate reward for a carefully rehearsed concert which was beautifully directed.  In a “blind test,” these young musicians would have given the Kansas City Symphony a serious run for its money on this night.

REVIEW:
University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance
Conservatory Artist Series
Finale with the Conservatory Orchestra and Choirs
Saturday, April 23, 2011
UMKC Campus
James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu 

Top Photo: Poulenc Gloria in rehearsal 

By Don Dagenais

City Classics Music and Dance Columnist; Classical Contributor

A lifelong classical music fan, Don Dagenais is a frequent preview speaker for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and has taught classical music and opera courses at several Kansas City venues. He has served on the boards of directors of a number of performing arts organizations including the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Lyric Opera Guild, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Opera Volunteers International, the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony, Octarium, and the Friends of the Symphony.  He has been the past president of most of these organizations and is current the president of the Friends of the Symphony. 

Dagenais co-authored a history of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, published on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (2007) and has written books on the histories of both the Lyric Opera Guild and Opera Volunteers International, as well as an introductory book for opera novices (Your Passport to the Opera).  He has received several local and national awards for outstanding volunteer work for the arts, including a lifetime achievement award from The Coterie Theatre in 2000, the Kansas City Musical Club's annual award in 2001, a Partners in Excellence Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2002, a Bravo Award from Opera Volunteers International in 2004 and a community service award from the Daughter of the American Revolution in 2008 honoring him for his community service to the arts.

In addition to his music interests, Don is president of the board of directors for the Metropolitan Ensemble Theater and has served on the boards of The Coterie Theatre and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, serving as president of each organization.  He publishes newsletters for seven arts organizations.  When not involved in the performing arts, Don is a senior real estate attorney with Lathrop & Gage LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, where he has practiced law since 1976 after graduating from the Cornell Law School.