CENTERblog

ASO’s Story Time

by Kyla Cook – Chugiak High School

Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s “Story Time,” combined some elements not normally mixed together in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts Atwood Concert Hall. Besides keeping the regular symphony buffs entertained, this concert offered Shakespeare fans a new view of Midsummer’s night dream, complete with actors Kate Norris and Cody Nickell. Even Harry Potter Fans could find interest in the Orchestra’s performance of songs from the movie. Throughout the symphony, the theme was stories. The audience was given a taste of music from four tales told in four drastically different fixtures: an Opera, a poem, a feature film, and a play

Cellos and basses paint the back drop for the first story scheduled for the night. Overture to William Tell by Gioacchino Rossini was an upbeat piece made especially interesting by music director Randall Craig Fleischer’s energetic conducting. For fans of the Lone Ranger, there was a special treat. The theme song swept a wave of nostalgia through the audience as the familiar tune penetrated their ears.

The next story, Afternoon of a Faun, gave a distinctly different feel from the first. While William Tell is a story of war, heroes, and faraway lands, in afternoon of a faun, Debussy tells the tale of a mythological beast and his visions of sunlit forests. This slow piece swept the audience into a dream like place, and even not knowing the story, it was possible to imagine nymphs and fauns chasing each other through a magical forest.

After the intermission, the audience was treated to a completely different kind of story. John William’s music, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Suit for Orchestra, was familiar to Harry Potter fans, and anyone who has happened upon commercials for the movie. This may have been the highlight of the night for younger members of the audience. As one young person pointed out, at the end of the concert, “It sounds so much better live!”

The final piece may have been the most interesting. Shakespeare’s a midsummer’s night dream brought together Felix Mendelssohn’s music, the Anchorage Symphony orchestra, the Alaska Chamber Singers, and actors Kate Norris and Cody Nikell.

At regular intervals throughout the song the lights over the orchestra were dimmed, and the actors came to the front of the stage playing many different roles, each with only a few props and their voices to differentiate between characters. For patrons familiar with Shakes pear’s complex story, the actors offered interesting insight to where the music fit in with the script. To audience members who didn’t know Hermia from Helena, the theatrics proved to be confusing, though still entertaining. While the actors were obviously experienced and added much to the performance, it was puzzling that the Symphony saw the need to ship talent all the way from New York, when they could have taken advantage of the abundance of local talent.

As a whole Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s Story Time was entertaining, as well as diverse. It will be playing one last time on November 14, at 4:00 PM.

Story Time

Anchorage Symphony Orchestra

Atwood Concert Hall

Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 8pm