College Orchestra changes its tune

Author: Andrew Throdahl

The Middlebury College Orchestra has experienced a renaissance, and last Friday night's performance made clear the renewed energy and enthusiasm of the student ensemble. Having practically doubled in size since last year, the orchestra displayed a fresh, forceful sound that packed the seats of the Center for the Arts (CFA) Concert Hall. Some concert-goers were even denied entrance.

The first part of the program celebrated Mozart's 250th birthday and featured passages from some of his later compositions. The audience was quickly pulled into the performance by the familiar overture to The Magic Flute. The Magic Flute was written simultaneously with the bleak, unfinished Requiem, Mozart's last composition. Both works, veiled in mystery, are still a subject of debate among musicologists. The Metropolitan Opera recently presented a new production of The Magic Flute by Julie Taymor, artistic director of the The Lion King, solidifying the opera's place as the jewel in the crown of Mozart's canon. The orchestra's choice of this overture marked a refreshing change from the overplayed Queen of the Night's Aria and Papageno-Papagena duet.

After the overture, Soprano Beth Thompson Kaiser sang two lesser-known arias from The Marriage of Figaro and La Clemenza di Tito. The orchestra supported her voice without overpowering it, a real worry given the ensemble's unprecedented size. In addition, Caeli Nistler-Schnabel '08 supplied a vibrant clarinet solo that seemed to anticipate the K. 622 Clarinet Concerto - La Clemenza di Tito is K. 621. Nistler-Schanbel's s solo was impressive, and a family seated nearby me gasped at her skillful display of the clarinet's flexibility. Kaiser and Schnabel graciously accepted bouquets after the performance.

Conductor of the College Orchestra Troy Peter's admirably chose to play passages only from Mozart's operas was admirable. The Middlebury community rarely has the opportunity to hear and experience opera and it is evident that opera was Mozart's favorite medium. That said, Mozart's masterpieces are sometimes problematic due to occasional clear technical weaknesses. The evident tension in the wind section during the Mozart works was surely due to these notoriously bare musical textures. Despite this weakness, however, the strings held the sections of the orchestra together and underlined the success of the first half of the concert.

The second half of the program featured a staple in the orchestral canon, Bizet's "L'Arlesienne Suites." Bizet is better known for his opera Carmen, which features some of classical music's most cherished tunes. The "L'Arlesienne Suites" are not as consistent as Carmen, but the closing Farandole, with its insistent repetition of the piece's principle theme, had the audience humming out the CFA doors. The "Suites" are unusual in the way that the opening theme of the first suite returns at the end of the second - an important device that the orchestra skillfully recreated.

The second half of the program, despite the absence of a professional soloist like Kaiser, was better than the first. The orchestra was relaxed and, in turn, rendered an often-uninteresting work quite enjoyable. The string section's spicy treatment of the opening of the "Suites" was so convincing that the orchestra's next concert is sure to attract another full-house.

"The orchestra has never been this large or sounded this good, and I'm very proud of them," said Peters of the orchestra's unmistakable advances.

This year's perfomance is especially impressive as Middlebury is not a "music school." Orchestra members split their time between classes, chamber music and private lessons. Principle cellist Adam Morgan '08 said, "I'm taking five classes, accompanying Ezra [Axelrod] '08 in his song cycle and trying to squeeze in a Piazzolla Tango as well. But I think the orchestra sounds amazing, and I'm so happy to be part of it."