REVIEW Community elevates orchestra's concert

Spirit takes over where technical perfection ends.
By JERRY STEPHENS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- What makes a good community orchestra? Good music, enthusiasm and a good rapport with the conductor on the part of the musicians, and an equally enthusiastic support by the community. All those were present Saturday in Greenville.
The occasion was the season's final concert at Thiel College's Passavant Center by the Greenville Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Michael Gelfand. It was very much a community occasion, with an audience of all ages, including several young children.
The Thiel College Choir combined with the Shenango Valley Chorale also were there, singing with the orchestra at the end of the concert.
Culture vultures may sneer at such community orchestras because they are not as technically perfect as the Cleveland Orchestra. I have on occasion noticed that such technical perfection can be attained at the cost of the spirit of the compositions. The result is that a community orchestra can often give a superior performance of the old classical standbys.
This was especially noticeable in the Greenville Symphony's performance of Bizet's "L'Arl & Egrave;sienne Suite No. 2. & quot; The performance was better than that of many major orchestras.
Another surprise
There was also an unexpected touch in the orchestra's performance of the Allegro movement from Mozart's "Divertmento in D Major. & quot; This is for strings only, and though the number of instruments was larger than originally intended, that was no handicap. Maestro Gelfand had the instrumentalists use the same techniques used in playing period instruments. The result showed that one doesn't need a period instrument to attain something close to the same result. The effect made this composition also stand above the ordinary.
Since this was, in Maestro Gelfand's words, something of a "pops" concert, there were also symphonic arrangements of popular music. These were "Irving Berlin -- A Symphonic Portrait, & quot; a set from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" and "A Salute to the Big Apple. & quot; This last featured a variety of Broadway show tunes from a variety of sources that dealt with the subject of New York.
What makes a classic? Is it a question of a specific composition style? Or is it that a good performance of the tune sounds just as fresh as it did when it was first performed? Judging by the Greenville Orchestra's performance, I would say it was the latter.
How concert ended
The combined Thiel College Choir, conducted by Dr. Michael Bray, and Shenango Valley Chorale, conducted by Edgar Groves, joined the orchestra for the final two compositions. These groups were excellent. They obviously have not let the desire for perfection get in the way of the spirit of the composition.
Accompanied by the orchestra, they sang the hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah. & quot; They also sang the choral parts in the last work performed. This was the ever-popular "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky.
Those who have never heard it played this way should make it a point to do so. The effect was very striking, and gave added life to a composition that can become "old hat" in the hands of the most prestigious orchestras.
It was an evening that was well spent.