On Friday evening, July 17, the River Concert Series 2009 at St Mary’s College of Maryland featured two principle artists of the Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO), accompanying the Chesapeake Orchestra.
MYSO principle trumpet Zachary Silberschlag played Riisager’s “Concertino for Trumpet” putting him in the position of being conducted by his father Jeffrey, music director of the Series. The piece is very technical and Zachary handled it admirably, much to the appreciation of the audience. Principle oboe of the MYSO, Katherine Heilman, occompanied the orchestra in Cimarosa’s Oboe Concerto, a melodic and beautiful work. Also well-received by the audience, Ms Heilman is a senior at Baltimore Lutheran High School.
The opening work for the evening was Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture”. Jeffrey explained to the audience that it is based on tunes from Russian Orthodox liturgy, and joked that one bouncy theme represents the “Russian Orthodox Easter Bunny”. The second half of the concert was fully occupied with Tchaikovsky’s wonderful Symphony No. 5. At times moody, at times peaceful and happy, and at times triumphant, the 5th is known for sudden changes in mood and power. The main theme of the 2nd movement, “Andante Cantabile”, is considered by many as one of the most beautiful melodies ever written. The orchestra played it brilliantly and received a large standing ovation for the performance. Pictured are trumpet soloist Zachary Siberschlag and oboe soloist Katherine Heilman.
