The Geneseo Symphony Orchestra featured guest artist Artina McCain on the piano (pictured above). McCain performs at different festivals and concerts across the country (Rebecca Williamson/Arts & Entertainment Editor).
Despite the Symphony’s Orchestra busy weekend with two different performances, they put on an incredible concert for Geneseo students, faculty, staff and community members.
The Geneseo Symphony Orchestra presented “American Inventions” on Sunday Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. in Wadsworth Auditorium. The orchestra also performed the previous Saturday with ROCmusic Collaborative at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester.
The Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Coordinator of Instrumental Activities Leah McGray who commanded the stage on Sunday with passion. The concert also featured two student performers who won the 2019 Concerto Competition.
The concert began with the lively “Celebration!” composed by Adolphus Hailstork. French and violin performance double major sophomore Brandon Joy explained the contemporary piece was written in the “weird time signature of 7/8.”
“There were a lot of 16-note runs in violins and a lot more bassline through the tubas like ‘bum, bum, bum’ which is kind of fun,” Joy said.
The next piece was “Vanilla Ice Cream” from the musical “She Loves Me.” This piece featured the first of the student performers. Soprano junior Kayla McGallian performed the song beautifully with a pure vibrato and expressive facials to match the quirky lyrics.
Joy said the orchestra had to balance their dynamics so as not to overpower McGallian. He also emphasized the shifting key signatures within the piece.
“We started off in G then moved into E major at one point,” Joy said. “That was using a lot of polka rhythms and cut time.”
“Lullaby” by George Gershwin followed McGallian and the orchestra’s exciting performance. The piece had a more serious feel to it and was the only serious piece the composer wrote, according to Joy.
“Lullaby” was originally arranged for a string quartet so bringing it into an orchestra was a lot of different orchestrations for it,” Joy said. “Since it was written for two violins, a viola and a bass, there were a lot of piano [dynamic markings], but we played them as triple p’s.”
The orchestra transitioned to the next student soloist of the afternoon. Flutist senior Regina Dziergas performed with the orchestra in “Night Soliloquy” composed by Kent Kennan. Dziergas explained her solo required more of a lyrical feel.
Dziergas also said that when performing, the musician should think about where they could “find [themselves] hearing music like that.”
“For my solo in particular, you come up with a visual in your head to go with each note or each kind of phrase or line of notes,” Dziergas said. “I think it really helps to visualize where you could be hearing this in the world when you’re not playing in your practice room.”
The final composition of the afternoon featured guest artist Artina McCain. McCain is the coordinator of piano studies at the University of Memphis, but she travels across the country to perform in different musical festivals and share her love of piano.
McCain expertly played piano in the final piece, “Concerto in D Minor” composed by Florence Price, which had a fun “call and response” aspect, according to Joy.
“In Price’s piano concerto there is a lot of call and response with the orchestra and the piano as we mimicked that,” Joy said. “There were also a lot of crescendos and decrescendos building into the bigger climax we did which is really fun.”
Dziergas explained the piece was inspired by African American Folk music, and that the piece was lost and recently rediscovered.
The Price piece and McCain’s incredible performance stood out to Dziergas and Joy as a memorable part of the night.
“[The Price concerto] has been my absolute love. The last movement was my absolute favorite with the ragtime feel,” Joy said. “I’ve worked with Dr. Artina McCain before at Eastman and she’s phenomenal.”
Dziergas echoed a similar sentiment about working with McCain.
“Dr. McCain is so talented, and I think it’s a really great honor to play with her. Also, the piece is incredible,” she said.