Conducted by
Leonard Weiss.
Presented by Music For Canberra
Llewellyn
Hall, 8th April 2017.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens OAM
Although
still a youth, the Canberra Youth Orchestra is one of the gems of Canberra’s
rich music life. It celebrated the 50 years since its incorporation with a
scintillating concert in the Llewellyn hall offering music which predominantly
had its roots in musical theatre.
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| Leonard Weiss in full flight |
Conducted
with considerable flair by its current resident conductor, Leonard Weiss, the
concert featured two compositions by Leonard Bernstein, a suite by John Powell
composed for an animated movie, and a selection of songs by such composers as
Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Stephen Sondheim and Charlie Chaplin. As one
former member of the orchestra murmured during interval, “I wish they’d played
music like that when I was a member”.
Programming
the two Bernstein pieces was a brilliant idea. Both were composed by Bernstein
around the same time, when he was still comparatively young, and both still dazzle
with youthful invention and daring, offering this young orchestra some
substantial challenges.
The “Overture
to Candide”, which opened the program, was given a spirited performance, and
although the strings tended to get swamped, and the cello legato was messy,
there was still much to enjoy in the performance. Similarly with the “Symphonic
Dances From West Side Story” which ended the first half. This arrangement of
music, written for the Broadway musical in 1957, with its constant changes of
dynamics and rhythms, demands razor sharp precision from each section of the
orchestra. In the main, the orchestra coped well with the challenges, particularly
confident in the strident loud passages, less successful in the more exposed
softer areas, particularly the “Somewhere” section. Nevertheless the end result
was a very creditable and enjoyable performance.
Perhaps not
as showy as the Bernstein, the “Suite from How To Train Your Dragon”, which
opened the second half of the program, provided a great showpiece for the brass
section, with the string section being particularly successful in achieving the
lush warm tones required for this sweepingly cinematic composition.
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| The Idea of North with the Canberra Youth Orchestra. |
It was an
inspired choice to include “The Idea of North” in this celebratory program.
This acclaimed quartet had its genesis at the Canberra School of Music in 1993,
and has gone on to achieve International recognition. Three of the singers,
Trish Delaney-Brown, returning for this occasion, Nick Begbie and Andrew Piper
are all founding members, with Naomi Crellin, who was responsible for several
of the superb orchestral arrangements, joining in 2002.
The
orchestra revelled in the challenge of creating the varying mood styles
required for Idea of North’s songs, confidently matching the dazzling professionalism
of the vocal quartet, with a swinging big band sound for Frank Loesser’s “If I
Were a Bell”, and Rodger and Hart’s “Where or When”. The intricacies of an imaginative treatment
of Bobby Sherwood’s “Secret Love”, the lush Hollywood orchestrals for Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” and
dancing pizzicato for Chaplin’s “Smile” kept the audience enthralled.
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| Samuel Hutchinson takes a solo |
For the jazz
classic “It Don’t Mean a thing”, Andrew Piper duelled with drummer Andrew Millar,
saxophonist Quinn Weber and trumpeter, Samuel Hutchinson cleverly matching the
sounds of their instruments with vocalisations, while Nick Begbie contributed a
witty song, “ F Sharpe” which left his musically aware audience, and
the orchestra, in stitches.
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| THE IDEA OF NORTH with THE CANBERRA YOUTH ORCHESTRA Andrew Piper. Naomi Crellin, Trish Delaney, Nick Begbie. Conductor: Lenord Weiss in background |
Officially
the concert climaxed with the orchestra and their guests presenting a joyful
exploration of Cuban rhythms for Jorge Ben Jor’s “Mas Que Nada”. But predictably the audience demanded an
encore, for which The Idea of North generously obliged with their unique
interpretation of “Isn’t She Lovely”.
The Canberra
Youth Orchestra has three more concerts scheduled for its 50th year. This
celebratory gala not only provided a superb demonstration of what has been
achieved to date, but a tempting entrée into what lies ahead.
Photos by Peter Hislop
This review originally published in the Digital edition of CITY NEWS on 9th April 2017