Humboldt Symphony

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Deborah Clasquin on piano, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony #31 will be played by the Humboldt Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Ayoob conducting, on October 13 and 14 at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $6 general, $2 students and seniors, free to HSU students with ID, at HSU ticket office or at the door. Reservations: 826-3928.


George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” featuring Humboldt favorite, Deborah Clasquin at the piano, plus Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and a symphony by Mozart---it’s a combination that seems tailor-made for audience enthusiasm.

That’s the program for the Humboldt Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of its 81st season, to be performed on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14 at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $6 general, $2 students and seniors; free to HSU students with ID.

While acknowledging that these works are among the most exciting and popular in the classical repertoire, Humboldt Symphony conductor Kenneth Ayoob didn’t choose them for that reason. “That audiences will relate to this music is important,” he said, “but it wasn’t my primary consideration in choosing the program.”

The Humboldt Symphony Orchestra is comprised of community members (including several advanced high school players) but mostly of “a richer mix of HSU students than it’s had in awhile,” Ayoob said. As a professor of Music and chair of the HSU Music department, he began his selection process with the question, “What do the students need to know about?”

His first answer was simple: Beethoven.

“There are certain things about the way a Beethoven piece is constructed that students need to learn---he’s not like anybody else,” Ayoob said. Beethoven’s Symphony #5 “ is a work they should know, and they should know it from the inside.”

Mozart is similarly indispensable. “In building an orchestra, it’s always good to do Mozart. He wrote so much, especially for strings. We’ve got a particularly rich mix in strings this year.”

Ayoob chose Mozart’s Symphony #31 (known as the “Paris” symphony) partly because it also had good parts for the wind section. “I’ve got a fairly young wind section,” he said, “so I wanted to make sure they got this experience. This is something they can really do.”

It also becomes part of celebrating the 250th anniversary year of Mozart’s birth, which began with the Humboldt Symphony performing a Mozart concerto at their last concert, and the Faculty Artist Series Mozart concert last spring. “It’s short for a symphony,” Ayoob noted. “Just under 20 minutes, so it’s a good opener.”

The reason for selecting Gershwin’s most famous composition-- and one of the most famous pieces of American music-- was slightly different. “Deborah Clasquin and I had talked about her doing something with the orchestra for awhile,” Ayoob said, “and she told me she felt ready now, and she wanted to do ‘Rhapsody in Blue’.”

But Ayoob also saw the advantages for the student players. “I thought it would be great,” he said, “and also good experience for the orchestra. There are actually parts for saxophones in it, so a lot of our sax players who don’t often get the opportunity to play in the orchestra get to play this.” Employing as much of the orchestra as possible was also a consideration in choosing Beethoven’s Fifth. “It has trombones.”

After serving as conductor of the Eureka Symphony, Ayoob is beginning his fourth year conducting the Humboldt Symphony Orchestra. He’s hoping the trend of more student participation will continue. “We’d love to see more student players join us.”

Tickets for the October 13 and 14 concerts may be purchased at HSU ticket office or at the door. For reservations or information, call 826-3928.

The Program

Humboldt Symphony Orchestra:

Kenneth Ayoob, conductor
Karen Davy, assistant conductor

Saturday and Sunday, October 13th and 14th 2006
8:00 PM Fulkerson Rectial Hall


Symphony #31 (Paris) in D, k. 300a W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Allegro assai
Andante
Allegro

Rhapsody in Blue George Gershwin
(1898 – 1937)
Deborah Clasquin, piano arranged by Ferde Grofe

Intermission

Symphony #5, op. 67 in C minor Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 – 1827)
Allegro con brio
Andante con moto
Allegro
Allegro - presto


The Players

Violin
Halim Beere, concertmaster
Ellis Britton
Sasha Chandler, associate concertmaster
Karen Normandia Davy, principal 2nd
Mary De Andreis
Bailey Dunwoody
Chelsea Morden
Kit Dols Morris
Marie Van Luven

Viola
Rebecca Downey
Mattie Eckstrom
Natalie Kramer
Don Morris
Maria Siler
Maria Zazueta

Cello
Laura Boxton
Christy Coranado
Margaret Burton
Mary Dunn
Cassie Moulton
Jack Turner
Andy Triechak, principal

Bass
Bobby Amirkan
Joshua Boronkay
Anastasia Ciau
Mary Delo
Rebekha Kass-Lent
Maia Wiitala
Shao Way Wu, principal, HSU faculty

Flute
Kate Bernet
Jacquelyn Joseph
Gabriel Roddenborn

Piccolo
Jacquelyn Joseph

Oboe
Brittany DePew
Maxine Sherry

Clarinet
Stephanie Douglass
Melissa Gussin
Jamie Parisi

Bass Clarinet
Melissa Gussin

Bassoon
Aaron Lopez
Karen Mejia

Saxophone
Jeanette Kyle
Dellamay Miller
Sky Miller

Horn
Christine Forman
Anwyn Halladay
Spencer Hitzerroth
Matt Morgan
Mike Thompson

Trumpet
Kyle Kaufman
Michel Navedo
Thomas Obeso

Trombone
Leah Jmaeff
Talon Nansel
Thomas Obeso
Kearney Vander Sal

Tuba
Andrew Miller

Timpani
Amy Cadle

Percussion
Daniel Grantz
Tyler Hunt
Jonathon Kipp
Kevin Repp
Rudy Slizewski

Banjo
Annabelle Cannon

Performers are listed alphabetically in order to emphasize the importance of each member’s contribution.


Media

North Coast Journal: "Sit down and make a list of the top 10 most memorable passages from classical music. Done? Ok, your number one is the thundering opening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony--the 'da-da-da-DUM.' Somewhere in your top five, probably, is the thrilling clarinet glissando that kicks off George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue.' This weekend, you can have the somewhat unusual experience of hearing the Humboldt Symphony perform one right after the other. Inspired programming?

'When I sat down and looked at the program, I thought, 'This is kind of odd,' said conductor Kenneth Ayoob last week. But he noted that the Symphony has two functions--to teach students the nuts-and-bolts pieces they'll likely be playing throughout the rest of their careers, and to provide a program that the public will want to hear. Ths weekend's shows fulfill the first mission in spades, Ayoob figures.

How about the second? Well, the top dog Humboldt County pianist Deborah Clasquin taking the solo piano part for 'Rhapsody' (her first performance of the piece in Humboldt County, Ayoob believes) there's little danger of poor attendance."--Hank Sims