Joy of Italy

LSYO News Review/Comments March 31, 2025

Welcome Spring

March 25, 2025 marked the “Joy of Italy” concert from the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra (LSO) which welcomed springtime with Italian flair.

It was a gorgeous bright evening as you can see from the photos. Everyone seemed pleased with the weather and enjoyed spending a few moments outside with friends before they went into Callaway Auditorium. As the sun set and more concert goers arrived there was a sense of warm and friendly Italianesque hospitality across all the cheerful conversations.

Side-By-Side

The March LSO concert includes the annual Side-By-Side for the LaGrange Symphony Youth Orchestra (LSYO). Students literally sit side-by-side with the professional musicians to gain real life experience. They play the same music and are expected to fit in, and blend in, just as any other professional musician would. The LSYO students practice for months for this chance to play before a discerning audience. This is a big deal. It’s an important learning experience with a fair amount of pressure, and tonight, as always, the LSYO delivered the goods.

For this portion of the program, it is also customary for a LSYO member to be concertmaster. This year that person was Jacob Kite, a senior. Since the piece was for strings, the orchestra tuned to the concertmaster’s A string rather than the oboe. Jacob was also listed in the program line-up as soloist!

With everything ready, Maestro Richard Prior came to the stage to conduct.

March 25, 2025 — Side-By-Side experience for the LSYO

Rutter

The Side-By-Side consisted of three movements of John Rutter’s Suite for Strings. Although Rutter is renowned for his choral compositions, he was also accomplished at orchestration. Tonight’s beautiful Suite for Strings was composed in 1973 and captures the essence of timeless folk music.

The first movement, A-Roving, began the concert fittingly with youthful energy! We heard great harmonies and sophisticated rhythms. This established the students’ high level of musicianship straight out of the gate and captured the audience’s attention.

The next movement, O Waly Waly, demonstrated the students ability to shift the mood and tone of their music. From the first movement’s quick energy, they moved seamlessly into this part which was reflective and melancholy. Many recognized the underlying theme as The Water is Wide, a popular English folk tune. This was also the movement which incorporated the solo by Jacob Kite, who did an excellent job. His performance was expressive, warm, and confident.

Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron was the last movement in the Side-By-Side. As the title suggested, this movement introduced a sense of whimsy and brought the rhythm back to an energetic pace. It had great syncopation and drive. The combined orchestra again gave the listeners what they wanted while showcasing the talents of the LSYO students! Great job!

A last-minute change in the order of the performance line-up brought Antonio Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons next. This change actually made more sense for the flow of the program and simplified the stage setup.

Vivaldi

La Primavera! Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 1 in E Major, Op. 8, RV269, “Spring” featured Dr. Sinisa Ciric, violin. Dr. Ciric is acting guest concertmaster for the LSO while also holding the position of General Manager of the Savannah Philharmonic.

With the first notes there was an immediate sense of vitality and renewal. The entire orchestra was bright and vibrant like the music they were playing. That mindset was reflected in the overall sound. The soloist was impeccable and gave to the audience every ounce of what they had hoped – a stunning performance. There was a wonderful vividness to the call and response of the orchestra and it was fascinating to see the musical conversations especially between the violins.

This piece was lovely on every level with so many things to hear like blooming flowers, birds (both near and far), a thunderstorm, and of course an ever-present sense of bliss. This timeless piece never fails to delight and neither does the LSO. Through all three movements the music felt fresh and alive.

Announcement and Recognition

Maestro Prior took a moment to recognize one of the musicians. The Dorothy Allen Turner Award for First Place in the LSO’s 2025 Young Artists Competition goes to Sebastian Alejandro Ocando Gallardo, who was one of the percussionists in the orchestra.

The 2025 winner of the Young Artists Competition was slated to play at this March concert. However, it was decided that he, and the audience, would be better served by moving his champion performance to the Fall. We will all be looking forward to that!

Congratulations, Sebastian!

Bizet

Georges Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 came next with its six movements. Drawn from his famous opera, the tale is as dramatic as the music – wildly emotional and bold. The LSO captured the drama while also delivering moments of lightness with equal precision. This work has become one of Bizet’s most popular, and for good reason.

The last movement, Les Toreadors, was a show-stopper march and was clearly enjoyed by the audience. It was triumphant, vivacious, and left them wanting more! This was a perfect mood-setting choice before intermission.

Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major “Italian” was also delightful from the opening phrases. The composition was inspired by Mendelssohn’s travels through Italy and you could sense the sunlit piazza bustling with life! This beautiful piece was graceful and had just the right touch of grandeur.

The LSO’s performance of Symphony No. 4 too was a triumph, with the orchestra’s skill in interpreting Mendelssohn’s emotions about the country. Even the transitions between movements were seamless. Wonderful delivery. It left us with a sense of enthusiasm to revisit this treasure again.

Each section of the Joy of Italy concert was timeless from the passion and drama of Carmen, to the renewal of Spring and finally to the sunshine drenched vistas of Mendelssohn’s Italian. It was delivered from the musicians with enthusiasm and skill and received by the audience with open hearts. Well done LSO! We enjoyed the lovely celebration of Joy of Italy and look forward to the April 29^th season finale concert Music of the Night. Read a bit more about Music of the Night HERE.