Intermediate Education Concert by the RPO

I was delighted to be invited by Lauri Van Hise, Leadership Giving Officer at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, to one of their Intermediate Education Concerts, conducted by Michael Butterman.  The program spans 4 days and targets 7,000 local 4^th-6^th graders.  Luckily, I chose the Thursday morning performance (I suspect Wednesday’s was canceled due to the snow, and even Thursday morning, only 2/3 of the designated schools were in session on time to be bused in).  Most of the principal musicians were there, although I did notice a few unfamiliar faces on the stage. 

As the students and we took our seats, some of their artwork cycled on the large screen behind the orchestra (more on this below).  The hour-long concert began with one of my favorite ballet pieces:  Prokofiev’s “Capulets and Montagues” from Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2.  Most of the kids sat attentively, although there was a good bit of wriggling and some occasional vocal disruptions.  Some of the kids would point periodically to something or someone on the stage, and whisper to their neighbor.  Butterman then welcomed the students, and introduced the morning’s program – Inspiration:  an exploration of how art, poetry, and music inspire one another.  He explained that while composers are often inspired by great stories, poems, visual arts, or dances, the reverse is also true; music can be an inspiration to visual artists, poets, and choreographers.  To illustrate, during the third piece, the Allegretto from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, a poem by C.K. Williams, inspired by this movement, was projected on the screen.  I suspect that the poem was a bit over the heads of most in the audience.

The most powerful part of the performance followed.  Butterman explained that the students had listened to a recording of Fauré’s Élégie for Cello and Orchestra, as their inspiration to write their own poetry. 12-year old cellist Jackie Hager performed the solo, and I was struck by both her poise and her ability.  During the piece, various poems were projected – some about nature, but many, perhaps inspired by the solo cello, about loneliness and isolation.  The poems were extremely moving – emotional and personal, and in their simplicity and directness, much more meaningful than William’s professional and intellectual poem.  Some of these poems made your heart ache, and so complemented the music perfectly.

Tyzik’s Ritual Dance, based on a carving at the Memorial Art Gallery, had many of the students beating out the rhythm with their hands or feet, and some of the kids were practically dancing in their seats.  It made me smile to see them reacting so instinctively and without self-censure, since they were freely expressing the movements we suppress as adults. Finally came the explanation for the students’ artwork.  They had been inspired by listening to a recording of Bernstein’s Candide Overture, which was inspired by Voltaire’s novella.  Butterman remarked on the use of vivid colors and energy in the paintings.  As we listened to the live performance, we were treated to abstract as well as literal pictures, some of circuses or a roller coaster, both of which were extremely appropriate to the music.  My favorite was a drawing of a bird above the clouds – I felt this perfectly captured the soaring feeling of the music.

As the kids lined up for their buses, I asked a few if they’d enjoyed the concert, and they nodded vigorously.  I would have liked to ask them what their favorite piece was and why, or their reaction to the students’ poems, or whether they themselves play an instrument. By introducing these children to classical music in a fun, participatory, “inspirational” way, the RPO is not only helping educate our community’s students, they are laying the foundation for creating potential audience in the decades to come.