After months of hard work and anticipation, several superb student soloists join the ±«Óătv Symphony Orchestra (DSO) to perform a selection of historyâs most enduring and entertaining concerti and arias for an adoring crowd. Â
DSO director Peter Allen calls the evening of music ââŠa âgreatest hitsâ of the greatest instruments and the greatest pieces ever written.â
Touted by the Fountain School of Performing Arts as their most popular concert of the year, Concerto Night is a âcelebratoryâ show in which student soloists audition to perform movements from works by composers ranging from Mozart to Prokofiev.
Allen believes that for the students, âThe chance to play with an orchestra is huge⊠itâs such a rush.â In further demonstration of the musiciansâ talent, a number of students will be playing one instrument with the orchestra and another for their solo.
âThese [students] are so proficient. Itâs amazing, playing two instruments at such a high level.â
Ruusu-Maaria Brousseau performs at Concerto Night rehearsal.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Each year there is also the chance to hear original work by composition students, chosen and performed by the orchestra, and this yearâs selected work is Rhapsody by Packer Woo.
Heavily inspired by Japanese video game music, Woo says that his âstyle is influenced as much by classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Leonard Bernstein, as [it is] by more contemporary styles like jazz and âmath rock.ââ
Associate professor of composition JĂ©rĂŽme Blais says that âall of [Packer Wooâs] apparently divergent influences come together in his music in a very engaging way. His piece is extremely rhythmical and colourful.â Â
Concerto Night promises to be a chance for students to astonish the audience while performing music new and old, in a once-in-a-lifetime setting, backed by a symphony of their friends and colleagues.
A special connection
Jacob MacDonald, one of the soloists, has a unique relationship to Sergei Rachmaninoffâs first piano concerto, which the Russian composer wrote 127 years ago.
Obo-Oluwa Sobukolaat Concerto Night rehearsal.
âHe actually wrote this piece when he was eighteen, when he was still studying. [Itâs] really cool because I was the same age as him when I started learning itâŠâ MacDonald posits. The prolific Romantic pianist was studying at the Moscow Conservatory when he wrote his jovial Concerto in F Minor, which MacDonald thinks âhas a lot of youthful energy [and] emotions ⊠that I can sync with.â
MacDonald is also excited about the opportunity to perform in the dual roles of Principal Cellist and Solo Pianist. âTrying to balance practising two instruments is a little tough [but] itâs neat to be able to use both of them in a concert like this. Itâs a very different dynamic and I enjoy it very much!â Â
This is MacDonaldâs second Concerto Night performance, and he hopes to return for a third time next year to watch his friends and colleagues illuminate the stage.Â
Honorary awards
Each year the Fountain School presents the Djokic Family Prize for Excellence in Performance and the Georg-Tintner Award. Â
The former award made its dĂ©but last year, established by long time music faculty members Lynn Stodola (piano) and Philippe Djokic (violin) to celebrate the student with the best audition. Â
The latter, longstanding prize honours the late Georg Tintner, a composer and conductor from Vienna who fled Europe in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution. In 1987, after a number of years working in Australia and New Zealand, Tintner ended up in Halifax, where he became the longtime director of Symphony Nova Scotia. Famous for his work with Brucknerâs pieces, Tintnerâs selfless passion for orchestral music influenced many around the world and in Nova Scotia, including Peter Allen who recalls him as being âa strong musicianâ whose legacy will live on in this community for years to come.
Delicious music
Solo vocalist Lucas Hernandes Nascimento believes that, âsinging with accompaniment is a gift. With an orchestra itâs a whole different experience. Itâs like youâre being hugged by sound.â According to Nascimento, his aria (Pucciniâs Recondita armonia) is âeverything a tenor wants. It goes right to the goods in the register⊠It has beautiful legato lines, itâs delicious to sing.â
All of the performers are very excited not only to perform, but also to listen and support their friends from their tight-knit music community. âItâs a great array of some of the best works in the classical repertoire. Itâs the last time that [a lot of us] get to be on stage together, so it is very special.â says Nascimento.
By contrast, first-year Pianist Andrew Son is looking forward to playing Prokofievâs âpercussiveâ Concerto No 1 in his first ever Concerto Night, which he claims is a great chance to âwork with your colleagues and do the best that you can.â
Rachel Taylor sings at Concerto Night rehearsal.
Concertmaster and violinist Sonia Hellenbrand is also incredibly proud of the work that has gone into Concerto Night. Despite the added responsibility, Sonia has enjoyed the experience of being âin the middleâ of each of the twelve concerti and arias.
It is with good reason that ±«Óătv advertises Concerto Night as a surefire sell-out year after year. Peter Allen says that, âIt is so intimate performing in the Dunn, the live music is right there.â
Allen encourages students and those unable to get tickets to the sold-out concert to consider attending the dress rehearsal on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7:00 pm where they can hear the concert for free and âsee behind the scenes.â Concerto Night is a reliably memorable and magical night of musical performance where the greatest hits from classical music hit the stage and come vividly to life.Â