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The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra is a talented group of highly experienced string players from the area led by Maestro Steven McDonald and embraced by a loving group of supporters. Their season concluded Sunday with a concert of popular chamber selections by Mozart, Bach, Elgar and Peter Warlock featuring the delightful young flutest, JoAnn Doll.

Trinity Lutheran Church is the ensembles musical home and one of the oldest congregations in Lawrence.  The elegant gothic sanctuary is petite but perfect for the chamber ensemble. The strings resonated well within the elaborately carved wooden walls and there is a cozy and inviting vibe among the listeners.

A Burly Bostonian, Artistic Director Steven McDonald, looks stern in his program picture but is charismatic, likeable and very funny even on an unseasonably muggy Kansas afternoon. He addresses the audience in a friendly way introducing each piece with humor and insight as he guides the audience toward a better understanding of each selection.  He makes comparisons for the regular audience members to pieces they performed earlier in the season adding value to the price of the season ticket and extending their appreciation for the genre.

The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra began the afternoon with the Divertimento in F Major, K. 138 by Mozart.  Even with the high humidity, the strings sounded well in tune and were able to maintain their pitch throughout the broad dynamic contrasts with just a few minor glitches here and there.  The oppressive atmospheric conditions being what they were, who could complain.

It is satisfying to hear an ensemble that isn't afraid to lean on the dissonances created by the non-chord tones, intentionally crunching the harmony so that the glorious resolution can be achieved.  Mozart would have been proud. Unfortunately, during the pianissimo ending someone could be heard having a conversation in the back corridor.  It was distracting and effected the cohesion of the piece. 

The Elegy Op. 58 by Sir Edward Elgar fit well in the English style church. The piece is pensive and allows the orchestra to exhibit their silk-like breathy legato as it sighs and resigns. Even in their softest dynamic, the group is vibrant, sounding more like a intuitive quartet than a fifteen person orchestra. 

The Capriol Suite is a chamber music favorite.  Based on a collection of dance tunes from the 16th century, English composer Peter Warlock re-interprets them for the early twentieth century ear. The movements were short and tight each with it's own stylistic elements which showed off the orchestras range. 

The Basse-Danse was well articulated and the Pavane was like a solid chorale with absolutely georgeous violas.  The Tordion utilized a bony sounding bowing technique which was frightfully difficult to keep in tune.  The Bansels seemed slightly sluggish which I attribute to the heat.  The pizzacato was effective and the ending had a nice angular edge.  The Pied-en-l'air literally felt as if one where dancing on a cloud. Unfortunately, a patron decided to blow his nose rather loudly, destroying the effect the orchestra was so carefully crafting. The Mattachins or Sword Dance had all of the excitement and dissonance of a duel.

The highlight of the afternoon was hearing the accomplished JoAnn Doll. A high school Senior at Lawrence High, Miss Doll is one of the winners of the 2009 Stephen Paul Wunsch Young Artists Competition.  Started in 1989, two prizes are given annually.  Miss Doll won in the wind/brass and percussion catagory. 

Confidently standing before the orchestra, JoAnn Doll appeared cool even in the heat. She played the Allegro movement of the Concerto in D Minor, W.22 by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach while Maestro McDonald conducted from the harpsichord.  She has an exuberant almost triumphant approach to the piece. It is only when she is  waiting for her next entrance that she tentatively holds the tip of her flute to her lip. The selection is full of bubbly runs and ornaments which Miss Doll executed with clean precision. Her tone is surprisingly rich and her intonation flawless. I was particularly impressed with her soulful sound in the lower register of the instrument.  She is a very natural player who doesn't over reach or try too hard to impress.  I wish her the best success next year as she pursues her undergraduate degree in Flute and Linguistics at KU.

Having heard many professional chamber orchestras in the last few months I would rank The Lawrence Chamber Orchestra as an excellent value in a compatible venue.  I am eagerly anticipating their next season. For more information check out their very well designed website. www.lawrencechamberorchestra.org/

REVIEW:
Lawrence Chamber Ochestra
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lawrence, KS
www.lawrencechamberorchestra.org/

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.