“Stop! Go back again,” conductor David Effron said. “There are just some little things.”
It’s the rehearsal for the Summer Philharmonic Orchestra, and Effron is working to fine tune the details.
Effron, along with more than 50 young players, will perform as the Summer Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday.
The concert will start at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center.
It’s the first time where classical music will meet a variety of creative performances this summer.
“We’ve got Leonard Bernstein’s wonderful overture to ‘Candide’ to open the concert, a favorite, I think,” Effron said. “Then, we’ll play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, arguably the most popular of them all.”
The second half of the concert will be where the elements of music “adventure” come into play, Effron said.
Beginning with Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday,” a tour de force for three solo trumpets, the concert will transition to the symphonic narration of Frank Proto’s well-known folk tale “Casey at the Bat.”
The folks tale will be narrated by Quinn Buckner, captain of the 1976 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship team.
Then, the performance will move to ballerina Morgan Stillman and IU alumna Cassie Dishman performing a tap-dance number from Morton Gould’s “Tap Dance Concerto” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”
“It’s unusual for any kind of classical concert,” Effron said.
Effron said the inspiration for the selection of the repertoire came from wanting to show a different side of classical music.
“It’s in the middle of a beautiful summertime, we are trying to expose the entrancing side of classical music for everyone to enjoy and have fun during the concert,” Effron said.
Performers are up for a challenge and appreciate the innovative style this concert takes on.
“This is the most exciting concert for me,” IU master’s student Jihye Choi said. “The pieces are actually hard to perform well. However, with the unique mixture of jazz, tap dance and folk tale, it adds so much fun to the performance.”
Featured artists include John Rommel, Leah Hodge, Evan King, Marietta Simpson, Cassie Dishman and Morgan Stillman.
After conducting the Summer Philharmonic Orchestra for more than 16 years, David Effron is collaborating for the first time with some of the ?artists in this performance.
“We have a relatively short period of time for preparation actually,” Effron said. “Although every group is a little bit different, we try to approach classical music from the best way in order to get the best result.”
Effron said the Summer Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the top groups in the world.
“We have wonderful players from many different countries represented,” Effron said. “It’s the best of the best.”
The tickets cost $12 for the general public and $6 for students. Guests can purchase the tickets online or at the Musical Arts Center box office.
“Mr. Effron got so many great ideas during rehearsals, and he has been a great communicator with our players on the performing styles and that gives us a lot confidence,” Choi said. “We know other players very well, and we are getting better every time we perform and rehearse together. I enjoy the great progress we have made.”
