News & Articles

You will probably be reading this at the very end of October, or maybe the beginning of November. We are ready to begin Round Two of the seasonal arts scene in Duluth, USA. Let me share what I know about the coming week. At 11 am on Saturday, October 31, the Metropolitan Opera will present ‘Tannhäuser,’ the romantic legend of a great singer and his wrestling with the concept of love. This is live opera, via HD technology at the Duluth Cinema in Canal Park. This performance was last staged in 2004, so this is a powerful occasion, available right here in Duluth.

The College of St. Scholastica theater presents ‘You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,’ starting Friday evening, November 06. Share with all the ‘Peanuts’ family in this warm and pleasing stage production. The Underground at the Duluth Playhouse presents ‘Ten November,’ starting Thursday, November 05. This Minnesota play poignantly remembers November 10, 1975, when the ore boat Edmund Fitzgerald was captured and sunk by the waves of Lake Superior.

The DSSO Bridge Sessions competition moves to the performance
level at Clyde Iron Works about 8 pm on Friday, November 06. The four finalists will be sharing their works and seeking audience approval to move into the opportunity to perform with the DSSO on their February 06 concert. This will be one of the most creative DSSO offerings of the past few decades.
The DSSO will offer its second Chamber Music program of the
season on Tuesday, November 10, at 5:30 in The Duluth Depot, moving from room to room with five different pieces of music. Matinee Musicale will present its second concert of the season on November 10, at 7:30pm in Mitchell Auditorium at The College of St. Scholastica.
The Tempest Trio, (violin, cello, piano), will present engaging music by Bernstein, Beethoven, and Dvorak in this chamber recital.

Revisiting The Art Of Fugal Composition

Meanwhile, I hope you heard Angela Hewitt share her analysis and performance of The Art of the Fugue, by Johann Sebastian Bach, at Mitchell Auditorium on the CSS campus, Tuesday, October 20. Her words were enriching, as she shared a lifetime of interpreting Bach’s keyboard music. The performance of this set of musical pieces was aweinspiring. A basic theme, on a somber D minor framework, is juggled and enriched through more than a dozen variations. Each one taught important aspects of the lost art of true fugal composition. Bach was the last of an era, yet his mastery of this musical form created a peak never achieved before or after his own writing. Hewitt shared these complex variations with relentless energy, and the audience seemed hushed and entranced from beginning to end.

Instrumental Color Par Excellence

At the other end of the musical spectrum, the Twin Ports Wind
Orchestra kicked off its 25th Performance Season with a collection of music based on several epic stories from Biblical themes. As I’ve said before, concert band music is some of the most colorful music in existence.

Stephen Melillo wrote a fourmovement piece on the story of David and Goliath. Soprano Alice Pierce sang the text, and the band told the story of David’s piety, and his sense of commitment as he chose a special stone, and dramatically shared it with the forehead of Goliath. A set of five familiar hymns, brilliantly set to music by Luigi Zaninelli, was sung by soprano Rachel Inselman. The sanctuary at First United
Methodist Church came alive with brass, woodwinds, percussion, and singing in these creative tunes. The handbell ensemble Strikepoint! shared a couple of athletic and mesmerizing compositions, and organist Velda Bell shared the famous Toccata from the 5th Organ Symphony by Charles Widor, joined by the TPWO to add lots of low brass to the thunderous chorale. The building resounded with music. The program opened and closed with works by Oscar Navarro, a Spanish composer who will be present at UMD for a band workshop on November 5th and 6th.
 
His Downey Overture will jumpstart any sluggish attitudes, and his piece called Noah’s Ark offered a tensection musical interpretation of Noah’s commitment to his God, the sounds of many animals, the sense of immense storm, and the sense of a new beginning after the storm had passed. This 25th anniversary year will continue with several events. Stay tuned in December, March, and June for more dynamic music for concert band.