The Amazing Alban

(Alban Gerhardt signing autographs at Intermission)
Last weekend, the Majestic Theater was graced by a virtuosic rendition of Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1. Friday night, Mr. Gerhardt's performance could easily have been recorded directly to a CD with no need to edit. With great technical prowess and memorable phrasing, he brought the Concerto to life. Besides being an incredible talent, Mr. Gerhardt is also a pleasure with whom to work. After his performance on Saturday evening, he even joined us on stage for the second half of de Falla and Debussy.

Mr. Gerhardt also spoke favorably about us on his blog (http://www.albangerhardt.com/english/index.html). Gerhardt writes: "But I was truly impressed by the quality of the orchestra here. They played in the second half the Three-cornered-Hat by M. deFalla and La Mer (Debussy) - an incredibly perfect performance including passion and great colours. Conductor is Larry Rachleff, a name I’ve never heard before, normally a bad sign for a conductor in his fifties. But not this guy: good musician, and La Mer I haven’t heard that good in a very long time (very difficult piece)." The symphony sends a big "thank you" to Mr. Gerhardt for his kind words.

Pictured above are Mr. Gerhardt, and Principal Cellist Ken Fruedigman and his students.

Backstage Picture of the Week: Violinists Angela Caporale, Bonnie Warner, and Bassam Nashawati.

A Belated Bugs Entry

"Bugs Bunny on Broadway" was a huge success. Conductor George Daugherty and crew made the week of performances a breeze for the orchestra. With concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the symphony presented an event filled with laughs and great music. Though all ages can appreciate Mr. Bugs Bunny himself, the younger members of our audience could be heard enjoying the humor of that "wascally wabbit." It was truly a concert series the entire family could enjoy. This series also presented a new challenge to the musicians. Because the timing of the cartoons is unchangeable, each musician wore a headset to listen to a "click track." As long as we stayed with the metronome-like sound clicking away in our ears, the music would be in synchronization with the cartoon.
Below are a few pictures taken at the performances.
Principal Cellist, Ken Freudigman speaking with an audience member.

Backstage Picture of the Week: A very happy viola section! From left to right, Matt Diekman, Courtney Filner, David Filner (Director of Education), and Principal Violist Allyson Dawkins.

Busy, Busy, Busy

(Laurie Auditorium in between Young People's Concerts)
The musicians of the San Antonio Symphony have been very busy this past week. The week began with Young People’s Concerts at Trinity University’s Laurie Auditorium (six to be exact), followed by a concert at San Antonio College’s McAllister Auditorium, and ended with a side-by-side concert with the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio. Eight concerts over the span of six days kept the orchestra on their toes. This set of Young People’s concerts was the final set of the educational concerts for this season. Reaching thousands of San Antonio youth, the Young People’s series is just one of the many ways the musicians reach out to more than just the Majestic Theater audience.

While at San Antonio College, the symphony joined forces with the choirs of San Antonio College and East Central High School to perform a piece by local composer Alice Gomez. This event was entitled “Instruments of Peace,” and featured music inspired by the hope of world peace. Of note, the concert opened with John William’s Olympic Theme music of the 1988 Summer Games that were held in Seoul, South Korea. Tying this to the symphony, Resident Conductor David Cho, who is originally from South Korea, felt honored to present this music at such an event. And yesterday, wrapping up the week, the symphony performed Rossini’s William Tell Overture and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol with YOSA. With the stage packed with performers, it was an exciting concert to attend. As clearly seen from these events, the symphony truly does bring music to the community.

(Resident Conductor, David In-Jae Cho and cellist, Marilyn de Oliveira)