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Orchestra will present a picturesque concert
IF YOU go
What: Youngstown Symphony Orchestra presents “Ansel Adams: America”
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Powers Auditorium, 260 W. Federal St., Youngstown
Tickets: $5 to $55; call 330-744-0264 or go to youngstownsymphony.com
By Guy d’astolfo
YOUNGSTOWN
Music written by the late jazz great Dave Brubeck will complement the majestic photographs of Ansel Adams in a special multi-media piece that will be performed by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on Saturday.
Dubbed “Ansel Adams: America,” the inspiring piece has already been performed in dozens of concert halls throughout North America over the past decade. It will get its Youngstown premiere at Saturday’s concert at Powers Auditorium.
Randall Craig Fleischer, music director and conductor of the YSO, praised the piece, which he has already performed with the Anchorage and Hudson Valley orchestras.
“Dave and Chris Brubeck have written a brilliant score, capturing the emotion and majesty of Adams’ photos,” said Fleischer.
During the 22-minute movement, 102 of Adams’ iconic black-and-white photos of natural landmarks of the American West will be shown on a giant screen above the stage.
Adams died in 1984 and Brubeck in 2012.
“This is the last piece of music Dave Brubeck wrote,” said Fleischer. “It was lovingly orchestrated by his son, Chris, and stands, like the Adams photos, as an American classic.”
Fleischer said audiences loved it at past performances. “It got a very positive response from the audience — compelling, entertaining, beautiful, visually and musically spectacular. The music sounds a little ‘movie-like,’ a little classical and a little jazzy.”
It’s not surprising that Adams’ images would lend themselves to orchestral music: the great photographer had trained as a classical musician.
Saturday’s YSO concert will also include a few other selections, including Mozart’s “Overture to the Magic Flute” and Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony No. 3.
After the concert, the Jeff Bremer Group will perform in the adjoining lobby of Overture Restaurant.
Those attending “Ansel Adams: America” are invited to come early for the Symphonette Cameo Concert which will start at 7 p.m.
The student string ensemble, accompanied by pianist Karen Lyn Fisher and percussionist Nico Ruggieri, is comprised of 46 students from area middle and junior high schools.