Written By: Grace Vuolo (’24)
Saturday night, the Southern Tier Symphony performed at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University, continuing their twenty-first season, “Journey On!,” with its second series, “Adventure.” The symphony features Houghton’s own Dr. David Clem on viola, Daniel Zambrano on cello, Dianna Clem on piccolo, and graduate Jack Smith on trumpet. The music director and conductor, Benjamin Grow, opened the concert by conducting the ensemble and audience in The Star-Spangled Banner before smoothly transitioning to John Philip Sousa’s The Star and Stripes Forever. Grow’s conducting was lively and displayed precision that would set the tone for his conducting throughout the rest of the concert. This Sousa composition featured portions that highlighted Dianna Clem’s proficient piccolo playing as well as Jack Smith’s strong trumpet and a well-synchronized string section. The next piece played was Giacomo Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville. Grow conducted the dynamic changes with clarity that encouraged accurate playing for the ensemble. The softer sections stood out as the strings and winds maintained an impressive quality of sound through soft dynamic levels. The violins remained well in sync throughout the piece, following the concertmaster, James Ieda, who led with serenity and prestige. The Waltz from Sleeping Beauty by the illustrious Piotr Illych Tchaikovsky stole the show from the moment it began. Commonly associated with the classic Disney film, this Tchaikovsky piece bore much nostalgia that was phenomenally brought to life through the sweet strings, rhythmic winds, and soaring brass. Grow’s conducting perfectly communicated the style of the song and gave clear cutoffs for a synchronized orchestra. The next piece, Hungarian March, was composed by Hector Berlioz. The strings sounded loud and full as the other sections played in good harmony with one another. The brass section entered strong upon the conductor’s cue yielding an even fuller sound. The fast-paced sections within the piece also were played with precision and distinguished talent. Roses of the South by Johann Strauss followed, bearing the same excellence in dynamic and stylistic transitions accomplished by the ensemble and conductor as the previous songs. This piece was succeeded by another one of the best performances of the night, another Tchaikovsky composition, Act 1, No. 2 from Swan Lake. I was excited to see this in the program and surprised when the conductor had a lapse of memory and nearly skipped over it. Fortunately, members of the ensemble reminded him, and the nostalgic, powerful sweetness of the piece enveloped the audience. The brass and percussion played in perfect synchronization, and the featured oboist played out the melody beautifully, making this a highlight of the concert. Leroy Anderson’s Bugler’s Holiday featured Jack Smith along with the other trumpeter who were both surprisingly joined by Grow also on trumpet. A brief intermission followed this piece. During intermission, there was an undeniable anticipation building. If the first half was so incredible, what did the second half have in store?Apparently, not much. The second half opened with the Poet and the Peasant Overture by Franz von Suppé which was a rather generic composition compared to the other songs that had been played. The percussion was overpowering, particularly at the end, and the piece overall brought down the level of anticipation for the rest of the performance. The following well-known piece, The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II, although played well stylistically, featured tired strings and poorly-timed percussion that contrasted the lively conducting and strong brass section. Next was Radetzsky March, written by Johann Strauss I, wherein Grow encouraged audience involvement by clapping to the beat during the main musical motif. The audience kept the beat well, but the strings majorly messed up rhythmically and harmonically, possibly thrown off by the external involvement. At this point, with such a blatant mistake, I had lost hope in the rest of the performance. Fortunately, the show was pulled together beautifully for the Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker, another piece by Piotr Illych Tchaikovsky. Perhaps this reviewer is just partial to Tchaikovsky, but this was the third highlight of the entire performance. Cristin Kalinowski opened with a harp solo free from the conductor. This lilted throughout the room, encouraging dynamically balanced winds and unified strings that followed Grow’s masterful guidance. Finally, the symphony closed out the performance just as it was opened, with a piece by John Philip Sousa, The Washington Post, which was an upbeat, precise, and successful end to the concert.Overall, despite the mistakes, watching the Southern Tier Symphony was a beautiful and inspiring experience for this young musician and reviewer. Given the opportunity, I would certainly encourage going to see them perform, as I would hope to as well at the next chance, which will be again at St. Bonaventure University on May 4th. ★
