Afternoon musings on CHSO

I wrote something last year about watching a Milford TV CHSO Concert Broadcast in the wee hours of a morning that was an “Epiphany” of an aspect of Claflin Hill Symphony and just the other afternoon I had another one, thanks to the masterful audio/video team of Milford TV and Silken Sound, the CHSO audio partners.

And yes, I’m sometimes given to taking a “chill time” in the afternoon and surfing the TV channels to find something interesting – sometimes a Town Committee Hearing, the news commentaries, Seinfeld re-runs – but often settling on our own local Cable Station.

This past Tuesday I was home around 1 PM – it IS school vacation week and I don’t have afternoon teaching 😉, but I was waiting on a visit from Dave Mcllellan – our Special Guest Artist on Classical Guitar at our next CHSO concert on March 9th.   Dave and I were planning to go through his Concerto work – the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by Mario Castelneuvo-Tedesco and work out any phrasing and tempo choices. 

While I was waiting, I came on the opening half of the CHSO November Season Opener – which began with a majestic rendering of the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue – (as heard in the ending scenes of The Godfather !!) – followed by a gorgeous and sensuous performance of the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde by the German romantic opera composer, Richard Wagner.   The first half ended with Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” – always a huge audience pleaser, familiar from its use in film and pop culture, and it’s great FUN for the orchestra to play too! 

In Ravel’s Bolero, everyone in the wind section has a solo and as the piece builds and blends more exotic combinations of the wind soloists, it evolves in style – from it’s beginning as a plaintive, mantra-like simple melody first played by the flute into a powerful and unleashed “bacchanal” of sound from the entire community of the orchestra – blending winds with strings, brass and percussion into a joyous and triumphant climax!

Even though I was there and at the front of it all in the moment, it was more amazing to watch now from the armchair in a more detached and attentive state.  In the concert, we’re focused on continuing the beat, or the mood and executing each next technical challenge on the next page to keep this piece going to its ultimate conclusion. 

But now, as a spectator, I was able to enjoy each solo, watching the intense concentration in the face of the soloist, while all around them in the camera shot were the faces of their colleagues – who were smiling and nodding as they counted their own measures of rest until their entrance – but in total empathy with their friend as they performed so beautifully!  

Every single solo was beautifully phrased and note perfect.  Each one built on the energy of the previous one and then some of them took turns playing it together to create new and unique wind voices.  Meanwhile, the strings are strumming and plucking for 5 minutes, before they begin to start using their bows.  And through it all, our Principal Percussionist, Pieter Struyk was beating the same two measure “tattoo” on the snare drum – perfectly identical every two measures – never deviating at all from the tempo – but gradually and imperceptibly increasing the intensity and the volume of the building orchestra chorale.

It was indeed a thrilling performance – and made all the more so by ONE more and MOST integral factor – Our Audience in the Room! 

One of our larger February audiences since before the Pandemic, the listeners were transfixed throughout the performance – and the intensity of their attention and fellow empathy for our efforts somehow is felt by the musicians, much as “silently” cheering fans at a ballpark.

It was an amazing first half of the first concert of the season, with SO much to come, both that night and all the way to this afternoon, as we prepare for two more concerts in the next two weeks!

It was a great night of music, but more importantly and forever on eternally – it was a great night of individuals achieving new personal heights in teamwork with their colleagues and friends and together with their community in attendance elevated the human experience for all.

It is another of the “True Nature’s” of Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra.

Thanks for reading and if you haven’t already done so, please consider joining with the rest of your neighbors in our quest for human greatest in community.

Paul Surapine

P.S.   Oh and by the way, I had a GREAT session with our soloist Dave Mcllellan and can promise you another spectular Claflin Hill Life Event on March 9th.