In fact, when I saw him running across the square, with his smiling face and flying mass of dark curls, I might even have gasped!
It was right at 6 PM, time for the front doors at Mickve Israel Synagogue to be closed and the concert to begin, and I had taken a peek outside for any latecomers...
and there he was, still dressed in the snazzy jacket and scarf from this morning!
I welcomed him and he flashed his Musician Badge and joined some folks on the front row.
Very nice!
That let me know that the Dubhe Ensemble was going to be a winning show...
and it was!
I had expected a classical concert for this SMF35 event, but, except for the Schubert number - that took up the entire second half - all music was composed in the last decade.
As in, the music was fresh.
and he's from right here in Savannah, Georgia.
When he isn't traveling the world promoting diversity in music - check out his Project 440 - he's the principal double bass in the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he joined in 2010 at the age of 29.
If I sound a little starstruck, that's because I am.
He's also a delight when he speaks, and is very much concerned with being down to Earth.
Very nice!
So, why name the group "Dubhe", a word pronounced like "tuba", but actually the Arabic name of a star?
That star is in the Big Dipper, and points toward Polaris, the North Star, which is in the Little Dipper.
Super nice!!
So, how was the concert?
Well, the first piece, composed in 2018 by Gabriella Smith, who also attended the Curtis Institute of Music, like Conyers, was named for the corals with 6-fold symmetry (she loves biology).
I didn't care for it; it resembled horror movie music.
The next bit, a solo by Conyers, was a hymn he grew up with, "He Looked Beyond My Faults", played to the tune of...
are you ready for this?...
the Irish song, "Danny Boy"!!!
Apparently like several other hymns!
How wondrous is that?!
I really enjoyed the story he told about it, too.
I don't know that I've ever heard an original written specifically for this festival before!
"Quintet In The Key Of Blue" had three sections, which I thought of as "cacophony", "elegy", and "rejoice", with each section fitting those descriptors.
That made the new composition fit quite well with the opening number the qunitet played, as well as the hymn solo done by Conyers.
What an excellent program!
And, except for the "Danny Boy" tune, none of the music was anything I might have ever heard.
That's one of the key reasons why I volunteer: to hear music that is new to me.
Mission accomplished...
and in a venue being used for the first time by SMF!
Very nice!
Now, to catch some of "The Ten Commandments"...
it's that time of year again!
1 comment:
Ruth Cohan - wife of 'Tis - was there, too, as a volunteer!
So were Penny and Lonnie, with her taking charge as she does, but especially as Mickve Israel is her congregation.
(smile!)
Mandy was actual House manager, with most of the volunteers being Student Ambassadors this time.
Good to have so many young people there...
and so many in the audience, too!
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