Fenwick vs. Felicity
Students earn scholarships
Minster vs. Southeastern
Home > Blogs > Arts and Entertainment > Archives > 2009 > February > 06 > Entry
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s High School Concert a tribute to Abraham Lincoln
You’re not supposed to yell “fire” in a crowded theater but that’s exactly what Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Neal Gittleman implored the audience to do at DPO’s 11th Annual High School Concert on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Schuster Center.
During a brass band performance of “The Polish Fireman” the music paused briefly and a musician clanged a fire bell; students from Kettering, West Carrollton, St. Henry, Ansonia and other area schools screamed “fire” at the top of their lungs. It was one of many highlights of DPO’s “Liberty and Lincoln” a concert celebrating the bi-centennial of Lincoln’s birth.
Directing traffic in the Schuster lobby was Gloria Pugh, DPO’s director of education.
“It’s called a high school concert but we have students from middle schools as well,” Pugh said. “Because we’re dealing with large groups we have to be sure we have them seated well ahead of time and that we have plenty of people here to get them in and out.”
Pugh said DPO’s school programs are entertaining, informative and tailored with the students in mind.
“When we started these concerts we met with high school teachers and brainstormed areas of the curriculum that would be good fits for a music concert connection. The original themes were planned with real classroom teachers and Neal plugged in the music.”
During the concert Gittleman explained that while military bands today are for entertainment and morale-building, military bands during the Civil War were on the actual battlefield “dodging bullets while keeping time for the soldiers.”
Gittleman then led the orchestra into Charles Ives’ tribute to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the black regiment whose story is told in the Civil War movie “Glory.” The concert ended on a stirring note with Aaron Copeland’s “Lincoln Portrait.”
“The key to reaching high schoolers is to capture their imagination and show them respect,” Gittleman said. “Kids at this age crave powerful, gripping experiences. No experience is more powerful or gripping than hearing a great orchestra perform great music live in a great concert hall.”
Mission accomplished.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Review
Comments