RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 5, 2011, Classical, Jazz
Conservatory's Kauffman debut
The UMKC Conservatory Concert Jazz Band and Wind Symphony performed in Helzberg Hall for the opening concert of the Conservatory Artist Series. Joined by the PRISM Quartet, the program included works by Bobby Watson, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano.
The UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance made its debut at the spectacular Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on September 28 before an appreciative audience of about 1,400. The Conservatory Artist Series concert was one of the Conservatory’s flagship performances for the year, and is one of three Conservatory concerts this year to be presented at Helzberg Hall (the other two are February 20 and April 28).
After opening remarks from Dean Peter Witte, the Conservatory Concert Jazz Band presented Bobby Watson’s 2010 composition, The Gates BBQ Suite, with Watson himself soloing on saxophone.
The work has six movements with titles that will be familiar from those who frequent the popular Kansas City eatery, such as “May I Help You?” and “The President’s Tray.” The young players achieved a round and well-coordinated sound, especially in the “tenor sax battle” of the second movement, “Beef on a Bun,” and the mellifluous saxophone-dominated movement called “Heavy on the Sauce.”
Watson’s composition featured solo opportunities for a number of his musicians, including trumpeters Ryan Thielman and Joshua Williams, saxophonists Stephen Martin, Brett Jackson, Daniel Robinson and Blake Diebel, trombonist Ryan Heinlein, bass payer Dominique Sanders, drummer Ryan Lee, and pianist Andrew Ouellette.
One of the sax players even doubled as an instrument repairman, fixing an unruly key on Watson’s own saxophone midway through the piece, the rest of the band playing on, then handing the instrument back to Watson in time for him to resume a solo.
The audience responded warmly to the uplifting spirit of Watson’s composition, which ended with a moving tribute to his parents’ longtime Kansas City barbeque outpost, “Wilkes BBQ.” The standing ovation at the end was well deserved.
The concert’s second half was given over to the Conservatory Wind Symphony conducted by Steven D. Davis, which performed, William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso for Saxophone Quartet and John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 3 “Circus Maximus.”
Bolcom’s piece featured the PRISM Quartet. The four-movement work began with a fast-paced introduction featuring constantly changing tempos and a melody sweeping back and forth along the saxophones’ registers. It continued with a graceful saxophone quartet melody in a movement entitled “Song Without Words,” a romantic toe-tapping waltz with hints of dissonances (a la Richard Strauss, to this listener’s ears), and concluding with a fast-paced finale and a flashy ending.
Particularly pleasurable was the tuneful ballad played by the saxophone quartet in the final movement, which with a bit of re-orchestration could easily serve as a popular song from a Broadway show. The saxophone quartet also played a well-coordinated coda in the final movement, reminiscent of the solo turns often given the featured instrument in a regular single-instrument concerto.
The PRISM Quartet played with outstanding coordination and precision, exchanging melody lines and runs up and down the scale with each other, at times sounding almost like one instrument with extraordinary range.
The Corigliano piece was a startling contrast. The composer, who usually writes graceful and pleasing music, seemed bent on inflicting as much pain on the eardrums as possible.
The eight-movement work began with a blaring brass band playing from the balcony and side boxes, screeching painful dissonances. Scooping horn passages led to crashing percussion, then to a nerve-wracking honking reminiscent of car horns, then to tubas burping like huge bass frogs.
Only the “Prayer” movement near the end of the piece produced anything remotely “pleasant,” and even there the relatively soft melody against a bass accompaniment quickly disintegrated into noises reminding one of harrumphing elephants.
According to the program notes, the composer was inspired by the Circus Maxima of ancient Rome, a real place in which “300,000 spectators were entertained by chariot races, hunts and battles.” What honking car horns and burping frogs have to do with this is a bit of a mystery. The last movement of the piece, ending with a strangely costumed marching band (Santa Claus playing a horn?), shrieking brass and woodwinds, and a concluding rifle shot (ancient Rome?) at last brought a welcome end to the piece.
The audience gave it a standing ovation, though, perhaps for some, out of relief.
Notwithstanding this last curious selection of repertoire, the first two numbers were a delight to the ear. As Bobby Watson rightly told the audience in his comments during the jazz suite, “It is such a good thing to finally be in a place where the music belongs.” Amen to that.
REVIEW:
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Conservatory Artist Series: Conservatory Concert Jazz Band and Wind Symphony with PRISM Quartet
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Helzberg Hall
1601 Broadway, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu
Top photo: UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony (Photos by James Allison)
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.
Comments(2):
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Conservatory's Kauffman Debut
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 Julia
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Hmm...
Friday, October 07, 2011 Dustin
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