Strains of classical and jazz music in upcoming orchestra concert

Home Culture Strains of classical and jazz music in upcoming orchestra concert
Strains of classical and jazz music in upcoming orchestra concert

In their end-of-the-semester concert, the Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra features a repertoire representing a blend of classical and jazz music, opening with the “Hansel and Gretel” opera by Engelbert Humperdinck, and ending with banjo and jazz-infused classical piece after the intermission.
The excerpts from “Hansel and Gretel” consist of four movements, one of which has three parts.
Hansel will be played by mezzo soprano and adjunct voice professor Cynthian Knight, and Kristi Matson, a soprano and adjunct professor in voice, will play Gretel.
“We’re also featuring Claire Ziegler, a junior voice major,” Professor of Music Holleman said. “She’s the sandman who puts Hansel and Gretel to sleep when they’re lost in the woods at night.”
Ziegler explained her excitement for the piece and some of the research she had done on Humperdinck.
“Even though this is an opera for children, and it’s based on a children’s story, the music is very rich and almost dark at times,” Ziegler said.
The second half of the concert begins with “Fingal’s Cave Overture” by Felix Mendelssohn, which leads into “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, featuring soloist and artist-teacher in piano Brad Blackham.
Matson, Blackham’s wife, solos in the first half of the concert, and her husband in the second.
“It’s kind of neat that we’re featuring them both in concert,” Holleman noted. “What’s fun about this piece is that it’s one of the first pieces that incorporated jazz into classical music.”
“The very first performance, it was kind of improvised because he wasn’t quite done with the score yet,” Blackham said. “He had been commissioned to write the piece, but he didn’t remember until about a month before it was to be performed. Probably what he played in the first concert is what we’ve come to know as the piano parts in the piece.”
“Rhapsody in Blue” also calls for a banjo and saxophones, both of which aren’t usually included when the orchestra piece is performed.
“Will Abrams is a new math professor here, and he plays viola in the orchestra,” Holleman said. “I said something to the orchestra about a banjo part. He came up to me after rehearsal and he said, ‘Well, I play banjo. I’ll take a look at it.’”
After the banjos and saxophones, and “Hansel and Gretel,” the big band, directed by jazz music director Chris McCourry, will perform at an afterglow at 10 p.m.
“It’s really fun,” Holleman said. “It’s Friday night, after classes. Students can unwind before revving up for finals.”
Tickets are still available for the Saturday night performance at 8:00 p.m.

atindall@hillsdale.edu