“It’s going to showcase your orchestra in technicolor!” …lauded JoAnn Falletta about the evening’s program as she conducted an Omaha Symphony concert of Hector Berlioz, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Ottorino Respighi on Friday night at the Holland Center. Everyone in Omaha should clamor to see this program on Saturday, October 30th at 7:30. Change your plans. Pour a glass of wine. Walk as far as you need to, from whichever lovely parking spot you can find. It’s marvelous. It’s Autumn. It’s perfect inside and out. Just go.
Blake Pouliot’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violon Concerto in D Major was inspired. When he wasn’t playing, he dangled his violin at his side playfully, with the comfort and familiarity of a child and his toy sword. When raised his instrument to join the orchestra, suddenly he was swashbuckling. His face was glinting with the pride and mischievousness of a buccaneer; dueling masterfully against some invisible rival. But audibly, the fruits of the happy contest were an adventure of sound. From the lowest most auburn double stop sonorities, to the most dexterous and angelic harmonics, Pouliot scaled every inch of his violin’s capacity with an apparent excitement, and palpable agility. Some snobby writer like me, might have forced himself to tear his eyes off the captivating performance to see what the rest of the audience thought. In choosing to “sneak out” the crowd’s response as a writer, I was the only one, even if only for a moment, not transfixed by the storyteller and his violin. His face was in a continuous conversation of winks, and smiles, and insights shared with his instrument and its bow. The audience was glamoured. The young lady 3 rows in front of me was rising out of her seat with every rapturous cadenza. She couldn’t have been 8 years old and she was riveted. The retired patron beside me held her mouth in her hands, gleefully dumbfounded. My date fought back tears as she smiled and shook her head. Then, as if in response to a cannon firing, the audience hopped up to provide a standing ovation. Praise indeed, as the piece wasn’t even over! That was just the first movement. Falletta, offered a gracious smile and waved the stage open for Pouliot; as if to say she couldn’t imagine not stopping to clap after all of the violin pyrotechnics. Her conducting was marvelous. Her gentle, active, and authentic gestures guided the orchestra with the same clarity and imagination as her charming discourse, when she welcomed the audience to the show. Much like the young violin virtuoso, her face was on a journey with the orchestra the entire night. Whenever she turned sideward to address another section, her mouth and eyes were sculpted into an expression of longing and joy. It was a pleasure to see a conductor so excited to take the next step, and the next, and the next with an ensemble to which she so vividly connected. If the magic between the Omaha Symphony and Falletta wasn’t already mesmerizing; the chemistry between Falletta and Pouliot was a love story within a concert. Their eyes met over and over, like two strangers happy to share the same inside joke at a crowded party. All the while Tchaikovsky’s unique melodic gifts swirled around them, and up, and out to a grateful audience. By the end of the night, the audience stood up and sat down more than a devout crowd of Catholics on Good Friday, for all their ovations. The second act: Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome, was entrancing in kind. It elicited the same Mass of ovations: pun intended. The concert was a triumph. The most appropriate compliment for the evening was Falletta’s own dedication to the Omaha Symphony and its patron city: “Great orchestras [like the Omaha Symphony] can’t exist without great friends like you, who take care of them, to make sure you always have this treasure."
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An icon is an artist whose output transcends the divide between the popular of today and the perennially admired. At the Holland Center on Friday night the Omaha Symphony told the story of Barbra Streisand’s life as a musical icon, through the lens of songs made beloved by her career, in a set conceived and performed by the fantastic Ann Hampton Callaway.
Ernest Richardson, the Omaha Symphony’s Resident Conductor, lead the orchestra. As is typical of the ensemble the transformation from Masterwork to Hollywood and Broadway, was seamless. They were stylish, exciting, and gorgeous. The rhythm combo completed the instrumental collaboration deliciously. Mark Kurtz on keyboard, James Giles on Bass, and Derek Dreier on percussion. Callaway charmed Omaha. At one point she even elicited some help from the audience to make a little musical-collaborative snack. Patrons should definitely attend Sunday’s concert to hopefully experience the same delightful enterprise. The most striking element of the concert was Callaway’s obvious love for Streisand and her body of work. “Barbra has a great love of the world,” she said. She utilized several milestone moments in Streisand’s musical lexicon, as well as her personal life, to extract pivotal tunes and then used them to describe the beauty of living through Streisand’s eyes. Callaway has an affectionate working relationship with Streisand and has had compositions featured on 7 of her albums. A particular highlight of the concert, “I’ve Dreamed of You,” written by Callaway, was premiered at Streisand’s wedding to James Brolin. Callaway’s own songs complement Streisand’s body of work beautifully. They authentically rejoice in the truths we embrace in a singular way during the most treasured moments of our lives. It’s no surprise they fit so well with the hits we associate with Streisand: an artist with an unparalleled ability to sing with a singular presence of emotion. The bulk of the journey through Streisand’s life was designed around her hits of stage, studio, and screen. Jules Stein, Stephen Sondheim, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch, and Richard Rodgers are just a few of the cornucopia of greats the set list celebrated. Love, loss, and laughter are strung together in this legacy concert like musical pearls. Callaway’s voice danced with the orchestra. Her ease of facility and richness of sonority lifted the Holland audience up. One could feel smiles reaching past the masks in the room. Callaway’s humor was refreshing to boot. The laughter punctuated the roadmap between songs effortlessly. Omaha would do well to go see and hear the enchanting performance of Streisand’s cherished songs; or even go see and hear it again. There’s one more chance! Sunday at 2:00pm at the Holland. Thank you to Ann Hampton Callaway for lifting the city up in more ways than one. Callaway’s voice is now a happy echo in Omaha’s heart. I anxiously await her return! I tell my students every single day, that good art is about authenticity. What is true? What is beautiful? What beacons goodness? What rewards? What comforts? What challenges us? This evening, armed with a nervous writing hand and a battery challenged I-phone, I left a long day, completely and pleasantly underprepared for an impeccable refresher course in my own advice.
Ann Hampton Callaway granted me the kindness and pleasure of an interview. She is performing in her Omaha debut concert this weekend. As part of her legacy concert series, she is presenting a remarkable set of Barbra Streisand favorites with the Omaha Symphony. Callaway lauds the project with heartfelt affection: “Singing these songs and the beautiful way that they’ve come out in the fresh arrangements that we’ve put together, are incredibly inspiring and are going to be doubly meaningful after what we’ve been through in the pandemic…. To sing… with new meaning... is going to reinvigorate audiences to follow their bliss; to live their bucket list dreams.” She continued with a bright smile,” Getting to tell stories about Barbara and my experience with her as a songwriter and as a singer to a fresh audience is going to be an absolute joy.” Callaway has been to Nebraska before, once in the mid 1990s for a PBS special. But Omaha audiences are going to enjoy her candor, insightfulness, and of course, her voice, for the first time live this weekend at the Holland. She seems to be the kind of person who has never met a stranger. But at the same time, she exudes a depth and treasury of experiences I was so fortunate to explore for 40-some-odd minutes. Callaway released a single in August 2021, “Information Please,” based on a story by Paul Villard, from a 1966 issue of Readers Digest. It was a thrill for me preparing to meet her; we had this story in common. Every weekend of my freshman year of high school I heard It performed as a prose piece at speech competitions and it haunted me in a beautiful way. Callaway also recalled the story from childhood, but was again presented with it during the pandemic. The song is featured on her forthcoming album of Ann Callaway originals; the first completely-Ann-Callaway-content album of her impressive lexicon. Her longtime friend Amanda McBroom created the lyrics at Callaway’s request, and Callaway composed the music. “You have to have a certain kind of mind that is able to distill story.” She continued, “I just knew that Amanda McBroom would be the right person to tell the story… there’s an innocence in the character. I wanted it to have the voice of a child but have the poetry of the man who wrote the story. I thought she really managed exquisitely.” Music, songwriting, and collaboration are clearly a vital sustenance for Callaway. Upon my asking about McBroom, she whisked me away to two nights ago, when the two of them were at a party, improvising around a piano, surrounded by friends-in-music and songwriters at her home in Tucson, AZ. “That’s the kind of life I want to live… is just to have those spontaneous nights with wonderful people and share music and inspiration.” I probed about the relationship so many of her friends share around music and she continued, “When you know someone in your bones, there’s a connection that goes beyond social. It’s a spiritual connection.” Callaway has set and composed music to her own texts, text from the Rig Veda, modern literature of various scale, and she is even the only composer to ever collaborate on a text with Cole Porter: the 1992 recording “I Gaze In Your Eyes” was a text the Porter estate allowed her to compose in song. So I asked her, “Do these awesome texts find you? Or how do you pursue this caliber of material?” Much like the song-craft obviously flowing, intuitively, through her veins, her response sang back at my like prose. She began with a quote by the French poet, André Gide: “Art is the collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.” Then in her own words she continued, “Every night when I go to bed, I just pray to be an instrument. Let me say what needs to be said. Let me serve and be a useful messenger.” Callaway has had the goal of writing poetry daily since 2014 and has written a poem every day since 2020. That discipline echoes in her resolve of expression. It renders a warm, calming presence when you converse with her. If you listen to her body of work, that authenticity radiates the same in her voice, her lyrics, and her compositions. I was blessed further to talk with her about her family, her collaborations, her legacy concert series, and even her mother’s craft as a musician (her mother was a graduate of Dana College, believe it or not). When I asked how her mother ended up at Dana College she giggled, “it was a nice Lutheran School her parents thought would be good for her.” It was impossible not to revel in the gladness and imagination Callaway seeks in every possible corner of the human experience. So, we moved onto Barbra Streisand and this weekend’s concert of songs she’s presented. Callaway has a collaborative relationship with Barbra. I asked her how that history affects her performance of some of these hits; to which she responded, “…her way of being in the moment and interpreting a lyric, helps me to be in the moment …and some of the great skills she had to really interpret a song, as few singers know how to do, I’ve really tried to live up to.” Callaway has been developing this Barbra Streisand legacy concert since 2012 when she was inspired by their collaborations, to share how she’s learned and grown with these incredible songs. She also wanted to express the humanity of Streisand’s story, her own story, how they connect with what we all go through, and what she has learned from those intersections. Come experience this concert at the Holland: this Saturday October 23rd at 7:30 or Sunday October 24th at 2:00. Come enjoy, in the landscape of Ann Hampton Callaway’s extraordinary voice, the concert she described to me: “There’s a lot of different notes of love and a broad spectrum of ups and downs in the show: laughter, tears… and of course living through a pandemic all these songs become brand new because they have new meaning. Tomorrow I will sing “The Way We Were” in honor of people who didn’t have a proper goodbye. [And] suddenly those words are brand new… and it’s pretty profound.” I’ve watched a dozen different “Romeos” and “Juliets” die since I was, probably 9 years old. Last night at the Orpheum theatre in Opera Omaha’s production of The Capulets and the Montagues by Vincenzo Bellini, I saw them come to life. Hearing this story told in Bellini’s uniquely theatrical, melodic language, was a gift.
Yuki Izumihara’s set design placed the action of the story in a crypt like space. The industrial colors and textures put the grave story outside time and space, accenting the enduring Shakespearian morality tale and its message that hate destroys us all. Shauna Davis and Sam Shapiro added a kinesthetic depth to the production by interpolating the action of the story around the singers. Their visual storytelling breathed with the music and provided a stimulating way to ponder the passions of the characters in a new manner. A third dancer was billed differently, as Lighting Designer, Pablo Santiago. While Santiago never took the stage, and of course didn’t literally dance, the poignant, active, and constant interplay between light and shadow was riveting. Singers’ faces rose and fell in and out of darkness like the sun and the moon, while their shadows scaled the illustrative, glowing panels surrounding them. The orchestra was predictably outstanding befitting the reputation of the world class ensemble conducted by Christopher Allen. Director James Darrah’s vision of the story was compelling. It was consuming to get to know these dynamic characters in the variant world Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, adapted from Shakespeare’s most famous play. Jesus Garcia charmed as Tebaldo, a character written to be far sexier and more nuanced in the Opera, than was his vengeful counterpart from the original source material. Andrew Manea, similarly warmed the stage with his deep and evocative voice. But most enthralling were the lovers around whom this infamous tale of star-crossed tragedy revolves. Andriana Chuchman’s Giulietta was exhilarating. Her razor’s edge accuracy flowed through a rich soprano sonority so enveloping one could wear it home. Cecilia Hall’s Romeo was equal parts dramatic allure and vocal feast. The color of Hall’s voice steals listeners away from the world they left outside the theatre. Both women displayed human characters of matchless physical and spiritual beauty. The best operas are so well organized that a patron can ignore the supertitles, and let the music and performance entrap them, such that the story and the drama are crystal clear without the necessity of any translation or support. Opera Omaha’s The Capulets and the Montagues is one of those shows. You can’t take your eyes of off it and it will linger in your imagination. My ORIGINAL idea for this entry became stiff and uninspiring to me, at least for now, after a fantastic cup of coffee I didn’t even get to drink Wednesday. This evening is Opera Omaha’s first performance in the Orpheum since before the lock down. Their completely new production of The Capulets and the Montagues by Vincenzo Bellini, reimagines the timelessly captivating dramatic staple, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, from an increasingly appreciated corner of the zeitgeist: conformity or the lack thereof. Now, that isn’t precisely what you’ll read in the program notes, but I am proud to live in a city with an Opera company taking such a courageous approach to this beloved fixture in our literary history. I am incredibly excited to see how this new production, directed by James Darrah, uses the centuries old concept of a “pants role” (a male character voiced by a female singer) to recreate this drama as a foil, not just for prejudice between families or persons, but indeed for hatred towards sexual identities, and disdain for that which doesn’t agree with our preconceived notions of social acceptability. BUT, that’s still not the topic about which I decided to write. Please go see this production. I think what Darrah and Opera Omaha are presenting, strikes at the heart of what makes Romeo and Juliet as timeless as it is: that our refusal to surrender to beauty, truth, and goodness because of our own inflexible notions of “fairness” and “normalcy,” is itself the crucible and the curse which breed all of our war, animosity, and cyclical destruction. No matter who Romeo and Juliet were, boys, girls, trans, white, people of color, old or young… and no matter how their behavior might have been admirable or reproachable… if the rest of Verona had approached them with understanding and charity “all” would certainly not have been so “punished.” NOW, back to this cup of coffee. Shannon Walenta, Opera Omaha’s Managing Director, graciously agreed to meet with me this week to discuss the Opera, the season, and she complimented me with some curiosity about my endeavor to blog about the music scene in our city. I was a mildly-embarrassing 6 minutes late, rushing from work. Her coffee was already ordered and desperately wanting to make this coffee worth her time, I settled into my seat. With a sudden and nerdish enthusiasm, I explained to her, how puzzled it makes me that it isn’t a forgone conclusion for much of our city’s population, of every demographic, to clamor to see the kinds of feats our Opera company and our Symphony achieve. I continued, that there’s nothing you can find at the CHI Center under a name like “Taylor Swift” or “The Eagles” that you can’t see at the Orpheum (or at the Holland). More impressively, when the electrifying lights, sets, dancers, and concepts in the Opera theatre come to life, they do so not as the back drop to a mere music personality, but as the blood and tears of a transcendental collaboration of multiple art forms, which providence or history have deemed worthy to survive. These stories are both timeless and ever evolving. These pieces of music are both instantly relatable and eternally impressive. DON’T mistake me. I have no criticism of Taylor Swift or The Eagles. I cherish them both. In a different life, my younger self once spent a deeply irresponsible fortune following John Mayer around the greater Midwest. What makes vernacular (pop) music so vital is that it contributes to the discussion of “how we are feeling and what we are doing” and that is reality. It’s liberating and exhilarating to share that music with fellow-kindred-consumers. Much of the music in the vernacular, possesses a great deal of genius. BUT, Opera, and I believe the Opera we can all go see this weekend at the Orpheum, is, as my beloved mentor, UNL Opera Director, Dr. William Shomos, once said to me: a discussion of “why we are who we are.” It lays human beings flat on the stage of history, it holds them accountable for their nature, it applauds their triumphs, it lauds their compassion, it convicts their atrocities, and it demands they consider better what is just, possible, and true. AND SO, as I prattled on to a very patient-smiling Managing Director (thank you, again, Shannon) I realized that if I am passionate enough about Opera to pursue a blog about why we need to all go see it…. I should probably compose a blog about why we all need to go see it. Ms. Walenta, would also like me to remind you, with pride, that at Opera Omaha “We produce everything ourselves.” She continued, “We aren’t just a truck that rolls up.” Everything Opera Omaha presents was imagined by our city’s fantastic Opera company to glorify the art form and beatify the musical landscape of our city. So, Friday October 15th at 7:30 pm and Sunday October 17th at 2pm, please go see The Capulets and the Montagues at the Orpheum. Good Opera is for everyone. Photos courtesy of Opera Omaha. What an absolutely incredible space! This was my first time attending the Symphony Joslyn Series. A slightly smaller ensemble of only Omaha Symphony strings, plus an oboe cameo, played the intimate Witherspoon Concert Hall at the Joslyn Art Museum on Sunday. From the outset, the tone of the concert was a delightful change of pace from the Holland. The Holland Center features the Omaha Symphony Masterworks Series with a beautiful pomp and grandeur befitting some of the history’s most majestically conceived music. The Witherspoon Concert Hall experience, complimented the typical Masterworks thrill with an unexpected warmth and tranquility. Even the acoustics seem to wrap the listener up like a blanket to enjoy a completely different kind of repertoire. Symphony Music Director, Ankush Kumar Bahl, conducted the entire program. Getting to know him better with each passing event, is also a pleasure. His gentle joy and obvious sense of humor shine through as he gushes to introduce the ensemble and the set list. Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank, was the first piece of the afternoon. Originally conceived for a quartet, the strings-only ensemble used a fascinating array of their instruments’ sound arsenal to simulate the Andean wilderness and its local musical treasures. Pizzicato plucking, uncharacteristically percussive strikes of the bow, and a frenzied display of harmonic textures collaborated to transport listeners on a Peruvian excursion. The second movement of Leyendas offered a stunning solo feature for Concertmaster Susanna Perry Gilmore. Throughout the piece solo passages played by the other section leaders were magnificent: Keith Plenert – 2nd Violin, Thomas Kluge – Viola, and Paul Ledwon – Cello. The dance as the different sections passed around an atypical variety of percussive string sounds and harmonic constructs was enthralling. The concert continued with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in A Major for Oboe d’Amore. The oboe d’Amore, played by Symphony Principal Oboist, Alexandra Rock, is a slightly larger double reed instrument than is usually heard with the ensemble. The instrument displays a warmer more subdued tone. Rock’s presentation was superb. The sweet, swirling ritornello melodies and electrifying interplay with the strings was a perfect dessert following the more sonically dense Leyendes. In the Witherspoon space, the orchestra was able to display a different kind of sensitivity during the concerto than the grandiose expressive feel they showcase at the Holland. Feeling close enough to touch the orchestra, made the chemistry between the solo oboe d’amore and the strings conversational and close: each counterpart yielding for the other to take center stage whenever needed. In the final moments of the concerto the violins and the oboe ceased their dance and landed together in a sweeping unison passage, which gave way to a standing ovation for the piece and of course for the triumphant soloist, Rock. Following intermission Edward Elgar’s Serenade in E Minor for String Orchestra, exhibited a gorgeous collection of accessible themes, oriented around each other a in clever concise package. Bahl paused to converse over the work with the audience once more before he began. His kind laughter and obvious affection for his vocation are a brilliant ornament to the intimate Joslyn Series experience. The final piece on the program, Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony, was breathtaking. Bahl called the audience’s attention to the genius of the 3rd movement in particular. His forecast was perfect. The entire piece was a fitting tour de force to conclude an afternoon with the strings, but the 3rd movement offered up a rich, beautiful, and sad journey. Britten’s life was courageous and complex. The 3rd movement of Simple Symphony, seems to give the listener a glimpse of a secret, tender, but tragic place in Britten’s heart. It would be a shame for Omaha not to be made aware how affordable and enjoyable our Symphony is! In addition to being the perfect musical snack for a lovely Sunday afternoon, they offer $10 student rush tickets for their concerts. We as fellow citizens should be doing all we can to encourage anyone we know with a student ID, to take advantage of these fabulous venues and captivating music. Another standing ovation punctuated a charming afternoon of truly exciting music. Thanks to Ashley Peterson for the incredible company! Bonus for her, it was her first time at the Omaha Symphony! @AshleyRochellePeterson I am so excited that after many crazy obstacles....this week I AM LAUNCHED! Please keep track of my TikTok, Insta and Youtube Channels where tons of fun content will finally start showing up. Next weekend you'll start seeing my reviews HERE! Thanks a ton for your support! I love the music scene in this city and love you for reading!
Welcome to the soft launch of Drew360Music. This week I will be uploading my World Herald archives and creating some content for your pleasure and consideration! There is lots in store for you on this blog. Any weeks I can engage with our community's fabulous Symphony, Opera, Concert, and Theatre productions you will be the first to see that coverage. Additionally, any film and music entering the zeitgeist between those events, I will be sure to keep my fingers on! Thank you for reading!
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My StoryI grew up in church music and musical theatre. From my collegiate career and beyond I've traveled through opera, the symphony, the theatre and worship as a student, a performer, an entrepreneur, and a journalistic correspondent. I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to share with you some of the incredible and fascinating endeavors I continue to undertake in music and the arts. I don't need you to see the world the way I do, but I'll do everything I can to help you enjoy it as much as I have. |