Last week, New York Philharmonic Principal Cellist Carter Brey gave the first of his two planned recitals of the complete Bach cello suites. The recitals are part of the New York Philharmonic’s month-long “Bach Variations” festival, which has largely focused on Bach’s orchestral works, showcasing the varied results that can be achieved on modern instruments in a modern orchestra by four conductors who have a varying approach to the incorporation of Baroque performance practice. Mr. Brey’s recitals form a welcome change of pace in the festival, showcasing his own personal investigation of his relationship with Baroque playing. Mr. Brey performed on Wednesday for a sold-out audience to laudatory reviews that recognized his personal relationship to the massive undertaking: the New York Times called his performance a “labor of love,” noting that Mr. Brey delivered “thoughtful, beautifully shaped, alert to contrapuntal lines and overall structure.” Above all, Mr. Brey has been very clear from the outset of this project that he has a close personal relationship with the music he will perform again tonight.

Bach is, for many performers, the most personal of all music in the repertoire. For solo string players especially, unaccompanied literature is sparse and rarely affords the artist an opportunity to immerse himself in a complete universe in the way that Bach does. String players so often work in collaboration with others, and the work of learning Bach’s music alone invites–and often demands–the development of a personal and unique relationship with not only the notes and the structure of the music, but the aesthetic and the flow. The genius of Bach’s music has inspired centuries of study, and scholars have been able to reconstruct the Baroque performance practice with astonishing detail–so much detail, in fact, that a student of Bach’s music can often feel that he or she is duty-bound to present the music as more of a living artifact than an organically performed piece of music. This depth of study is somewhat at odds with the sheer musical impulse that Bach arouses in the performer: the urge to bring forth the music in the most natural way possible, since it often seems that Bach’s incredible suites are in and of themselves a force of nature.

The tension between these two forces–the Baroque performance practice and the modern musical instinct–creates a musical approach that is completely different for every performer. Each player presents a different proportion of Baroque to modern in his concept, and Mr. Brey’s own performance has showcased his exploration of the Baroque beautifully. For those who could not attend the recitals, some understanding of Mr. Brey’s blend of modern and Baroque elements can be seen in the very approach to building the cellos that he performs his Bach cycle on.

As we reported last week, Mr. Brey chose to perform his Bach cycle on two cellos made by luthier Jim McKean. As McKean writes on his website, “Carter’s concept of the music had evolved considerably over the years, and he wanted to ground his interpretation in Baroque performance practice,” and it was only fitting that he turn to his old friend to help him find the right instrument. Rather than seeking out a Baroque cello to perform on, Mr. Brey instead asked that his contemporary cello be adapted into a Baroque-style instrument. Having made the first step into Baroque territory by practicing with a Baroque bow, Mr. Brey wanted to see if it was possible to modify the set-up on his McKean cello to create the Baroque sound and response that he was looking for. Brey and McKean consulted with William Monical, the “dean of Baroque instruments,” to determine what needed to be done. It could easily be done, they determined, with a different bridge, tailpiece, and an endbutton instead of a pin, and maybe a different sound post.

Less straightforward was Mr. Brey’s next idea: he wanted to play the Sixth Suite on a five-string cello, the instrument that it was written for. Five-string cellos are hardly commonplace today, despite the popularity of performing the Sixth Suite. The last of the cycle, it is the longest, most ornate, and is in many ways the most demanding, in large part because it calls for the cellist to play in much higher positions than the other suites do. The five-string cello eliminates this technical difficulty, allowing passages that would be performed in modern practice on a modern cello in thumb positions to be executed in neck positions. McKean had never even seen a five-string cello in a museum collection, much less in real life, and Brey would need time to get his fingers on a five-string to learn the appropriate fingerings. Says McKean, “Adding a new string disrupts a lifetime of ingrained shifts and bow crossings. It would be like relearning to ride a bicycle, but with your hands crossed.”

The project was no less daunting for the luthier. McKean adds, “In some ways it was an odd project; the literature for the 5-string cello begins and ends with one single piece of music: the Sixth Suite. I had just agreed to spend a month making a cello for thirty-two minutes of music. But so what? It was thirty-two minutes of the most glorious music ever composed – and this was a chance to hear it as Bach wrote it.” The process of making the 5-string was an arduous one, and one that presented a host of challenges. As McKean tells it,

It was well after Labor Day before I could begin work on the 5-string. As I was making it, Carter was refining his approach and style, and working with Bill on different strings and adjustments. But I was growing increasingly skeptical that the cello was going to work – the response was too slow, the sound lacking that focus and resonance when it’s properly centered. It confirmed my initial reservations about the cello: that the gut strings were just too short to maintain proper tension….The turning point was when Carter decided to drop the pitch to 415; this reduced the tension even further. The strings were perilously close to the point where even the pitch itself becomes uncertain – it will waver as the bow hits and then pulls the string. As much as he would never say it, it was clear to me that the cello was just not working the way he wanted it to. It was built for a soloist playing the modern literature: sostenuto, with full pressure for the full length of the bow. The Baroque style of bowing is completely different. Carter calls it gestural. It’s almost like plucking, in a way; a firm attack, but then the bow pulls away, letting the string ring (he demonstrates this in an interview on the Strings website). A cello designed for that can be adapted for a more contemporary style, but there’s a limit to how far a cello designed for the Romantic literature can be retrofitted. You can kind of get there, but it will never be exactly right.

The solution turned out to be a fitting metaphor for the entire process of learning Bach as a modern player, a serendipitous solution brokered by blending the most compatible attributes from both eras. McKean ended up using his son’s cello–an instrument he had made with a different sound and playing aesthetic in mind. Whereas Mr. Brey plays the instrument of a principal cellist and modern soloist–made for big playing and huge sound–McKean made his son’s cello as a vehicle for chamber music, not playing to the back of big halls: while he enjoyed playing, his son was not on a conservatory track. The model he used was rounder, with a fuller arch and a deeper channel: “the f-holes cut to make the top more flexible, the ribs shallower for an easy and quick response – it would work perfectly with a Baroque setup.”

And it did. The hybrid cello met with Brey’s approval, and when he played it for McKean to display the fruits of their collaboration, the reason for the five-string labor of love became apparent:

When he reached the part that gives cellists nightmares – the endless shift up the fingerboard – he instead just used the new top string. It was completely different from anything I had heard before. It sounded so natural; it danced. It was as though the missing channel on a stereo had finally been hooked up and I could finally hear the music in its entirety….Making the cello had turned out to be as much fun as I had ever had – designing it, making the composite fingerboard, shaping the wider neck; most especially, cutting the rosette. But hearing the Sixth Suite as it was meant to be – that was a gift. Making instruments in some ways is just a matter of making things right; and this was the way it was supposed to be.

To see more on the collaboration of Carter Brey and Jim McKean, visit McKean’s website. Also check out the two videos below of Brey in which he discusses the history of the score of the Suites, as well as the evolution of his concept from the traditional Romantic performance to one that incorporates historically informed performance practices.

The post Bach to the Future: Bringing Baroque Music to Life appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

This week one of Ovation Press’ own editors will mark a significant item off of his list of professional “to-do” list as a cellist by performing the entirety of the Bach Cello Suites as a complete set. Carter Brey, Principal Cellist of the New York Philharmonic is scheduled to give two concerts: Wednesday March 27 and next week on the 1st of April.

Both of these concerts have been sold out all month, with a constantly growing waiting list of names. This is not surprising at all considering Mr. Brey’s highly-acclaimed status. He has held the post of NY Phil’s Principal Cellist since his appointment in 1996. He made his debut as a soloist with the orchestra in May of 1997 with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under Music Director Kurt Masur.

Since then he has cemented an awe-aspiring performance record that includes the Elgar Cello Concerto (with André Previn conducting), William Schuman’s A Song of Orpheus (with Christian Thielemann conducting), Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote (with former Music Director Zubin Mehta conducting), and the Brahms Double Concerto (with Christoph Eschenbach conducting and Glenn Dicterow as Concertmaster).

With all of this repertoire under his belt, this will be the first time that Carter Brey performs the complete set of Bach Cello Suites. Ticket sales don’t lie: it’s obvious that audiences are very interested to see him perform these staples of the cello literature.

However, just as exciting as the way in which Mr. Brey will grace the ears of listeners on Wednesday is the instrumental setup he will have with him. He will be performing the cycle using two cellos outfitted in the style of Baroque instruments. Mr. Brey has also been performing on a cello with a Baroque setup during NY Phil’s orchestral program “The Bach Variations: A Philharmonic Festival,” which started at the beginning of March and runs through April 6. The premier of Brey with the complete Cello Suites is part of this series.

The two Baroque-style cellos that Carter Brey is using were made by luthier James McKean, who has been a major force in the legendary craft for over three decades. McKean learned from some of the greatest sources of education in the world of violinmaking, including Vahakn Nigogosian whose shop was a destination for some of the world’s finest musicians.

The Nigogosian shop afforded him (McKean) the opportunity to study and work on some of the rarest and most celebrated antique instruments. Equally important, though, was being able to learn the fine points of sound and set up from Nigo, one of the world’s acknowledged experts in realizing the full potential of instruments, antique or contemporary.

James McKean wrote to us earlier in the month about Carter Brey and the cellos that he would be performing the Bach solo Cello Suites with:

He (Carter Brey) will be playing on two of my cellos — for the first five, a classical four-string, set up in Baroque disposition. For the 6th, though, he’ll be playing on a five-string cello that I made for him so that he could perform it as originally written. For me, as a maker, in order to get a clear mental image of the cellos before beginning construction, I asked him to talk about the suites and his interpretation.

In the two videos below Mr. Brey reviews the history of the score of the Suites, as well as the evolution of his concept from the traditional Romantic performance to one that incorporates historically informed performance practices. The videos include demonstrations of specific passages that employ the cello in a “Baroque disposition,” with a matching bow.

Also, check out this video below which shows a live performance of Bach Cello Suite No. 5: Prelude by Carter Brey.

We’ve been extremely fortunate to have Mr. Brey as a contributor to our scores at Ovation Press. Stay tuned for another follow-up piece next week when one of our contributors will go into more detail about the McKean-Brey story, the instruments that Mr. Brey is performing on, and the topic of period performance.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Carter Brey and his scores at Ovation Press by visiting his editor profile.

The post Brey and McKean Bring Baroque Bach to Audiences appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

Composer Max Richter Remixes Vivaldi for DG Release

One of the most interesting trends of classical music in the 21st century has been the gradual blurring of the line between popular art and high art. In the last century it was almost always easy to see this distinction: Schoenberg and Webern were not part of the cabaret; Boulez and Penderecki were writing nothing that anyone would confuse with the latest Beatles album. Contemporary composers, however, have a much more populist streak. This is particularly evident in the way they think and about and approach their music. There are composers like Mason Bates, who is a DJ at night clubs in his spare time , who have made huge strides in brining electronics into the orchestra, using their experience in pop music to change their symphonic compositions immensely. And just how can electronics and other technology be applied to that art form we call classical music?

You can remix Vivaldi.

That’s what the composer Max Richter has done for his latest album release titled RECOMPOSED by Max Richter: The Four Seasons. The album is just what it sounds like. Richter takes Vivaldi’s piece, known the world over as one of the most popular violin concertos of all time, and remixes it, recomposes it into an entirely new form. He keeps the general feel of the melody and harmonic structure, but admits that majority of the original notes have been dropped for something by him. Listen to him explain the process in this intriguing video:

With a DG recording and a concert earlier this week at the Barbican, in London, it would seem that Richter’s approach to composing has been validated. But there is still debate about what he’s done here. Is it his own work, or is he just exploiting Vivaldi for his own success? Does classical remix add something new to a piece or dose it create an entirely new work? On one hand, people argue that composers have been stealing from each other for centuries, and this is just Richter’s musical borrowing filtered through a modern lens. Others disagree, saying that Richter has robbed the Vivaldi for its popularity, using just enough to attract a listener’s attention, but then cutting off the original before it can make its full argument. What do you think? Take a listen for yourself and comment below!

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 Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra Debuts at Carnegie Hall

When we talk about classical music, we primarily think of the art form coming from the western tradition. But surely music is not just a European phenomenon; it has roots in all cultures, even if they haven’t risen to the same levels of fame as the symphonies of Beethoven or Mozart’s operas. In the global community of the 21st century, however, more musical interaction takes place each year, making the concert hall not just the home of western classical music, but many foreign visitors as well.

This was just the case last Sunday when the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra debuted at Carnegie Hall. The orchestra, which normally accompanies the famous Shen Yun Chinese dancers, gave its own independent concert, performing a program of traditional American and Chinese music, along with selections from Vivaldi and pieces specially written to evoke for the orchestra that evoke their eastern roots. One example was the piece  Khata for the Gods:

This song opens with a duet for the clarinet and oboe, and whisks listeners to the vast blue sky of the Himalayas. The wind instruments emitted new sounds to convey the unique feeling of Tibetan tunes, while the trombone used an exotic sliding slur to do a stunning imitation of the Tibetan long horn.

The opening of the song set the scene for a ceremony where Tibetans expressed gratitude toward Buddha for a bountiful harvest. It was followed by a series of sixteenth notes from the strings. The strings’ clean, even notes built toward a climax that illustrated the pattering of feet as people gathered for the ceremony.

Hearing programs like this on a stage like Carnegie is a great opportunity for concert goers to sink their teeth into something out of their comfort zone. While still presenting the traditional format of a western philharmonic orchestra and pieces from the western canon like Vivaldi’s double trumpet concert, the audience has familiar component to help them feel comfortable in the concert. At the same time, however, orchestras like the Shen Yun present very different programs, featuring Chinese instruments such as the pipa,suona, dizi, guzhen, and a variety of Chinese percussion instruments. Furthermore, the pieces composed for these this ensemble utilizes these instruments and sounds to their full capacity, giving the listener a cultural experience beyond a mere show of virtuosity. Although this was Shen Yun’s first concert at Carnegie, they’re sure to be back for more, and hopefully with other similar ensembles and works along with it!

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Period Instrument Performance: The American Classical Orchestra of Alice Tully

It’s a well known fact among string players that instruments were very different back in the day. Strings were made from cat gut instead of synthetic metal cores; fingerboards were shorter and bridges were cut with less curve; and bows were convex rather than concave like a hunter’s bow. Earlier in the twentieth century, when period performance practice was just getting started, there was a huge difference between how and these performers played music of the 17th and 18th centuries compared to the famous ensembles of the day.

Back then, it was more in vogue to play “Haydn like Bruckner, or Mendelssohn with Mahlerian muscle,” as Zachary Woolfe mentions in his review of the American Classical Orchestra’s season opening concert this week. But today, as he continues, that isn’t necessarily the case, even with the big symphony orchestras. Period performance practice, at least on the level of interpretation and technical approach, has become much more standardized in over the years. Now in the 21st century, it’s rather commonplace to hear an orchestra like the Chicago Symphony play Haydn with sparring vibrato, more use of open strings, and tempo and dynamic decisions based on treatises written during the time of the composition.

So where then, does an ensemble like the American Classical Orchestra fit into the concert scene. If historically informed performance practices are more common now, are they really as relevant as they might have been before? Here’s what Woolfe had to say:

Haydn now pretty consistently sounds like Haydn, and apart from the low buzz of the period cellos and the mellower woodwinds and brasses, Monday’s performance of the Symphony No. 103 (“Drumroll”) was pleasantly typical.

While he always points out some advantages of the ensemble, particularly in the woodwind and brass sections, where the different materials out of which the instruments are made affect their sections as a section significantly. But these instruments are also somewhat more difficult to perform on, and as Woolfe notes, there was a lack in some parts of the performance due to errors.

At the same time, however, can we really trust the major orchestras to give a genuinely researched account of baroque and classical period compositions? While visiting specialist conductors may give the ensemble’s some very good pointers, these people are not always there to ensure the orchestra really plays Locatelli like Locatelli would have heard it. What do you think? Is there still an irreplaceable value to ensembles like the American Classical Orchestra? Or will trends continue and historically informed performance will become the norm at any Haydn performance? Comment below!

The post Daily Bow: Is Period Instrument Performance Really Distinct Anymore? appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

Year-long London festival to celebrate 20th century of classical music

Some orchestras have enough trouble getting people to come to their concerts just as it is. Throw in a few modern compositions—anywhere from the Webern Passacaglia to a Lutoslawski Symphony—and it gets harder to convince even the regular concert goers to attend. Unfortunately, 20th century music has had more trouble catching on than the music of preceding decades. A century of tumultuous change and experimentation in music effectively distanced itself with the music of the 19th century. In earlier times, orchestras performed what was a majority of contemporary works, works by living composers became a rarity.

20th century music, however, is not completely inaccessible. While it does take a little time and effort to learn about the composers and what they were trying to accomplish with their music, once you’ve done so listening to modern music can become an extremely engaging experience. One of the great guides to all things modern in music is Alex Ross’ historical narrative of 20th century music The Rest is Noise. The book is actually quite popular, even outside of classical music circles; it sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and made the New York Times best seller list. In response to the lack of opportunities that audiences get to learn more about contemporary music, London’s southbank centre will turn Ross’ book into a year long festival. The festival will absorb the London Philharmonic’s entire concert season as well as the centre’s chamber music and piano series. Many of the UK’s regional orchestras will also play a part, along with a long line of international guest stars.

The festival begins in 2013, and, while it is an ambitious project, it does present some difficulties. For most concert goers, “It’s hard for someone to hear a piece of Webern for the first time and just get it,” according to the festival’s artistic director Jude Kelly. Thankfully, the concert will all be supplemented with lectures, debates, and films, and the formal concerts will be balanced with more informal listening sessions focused on a learning perspective. The festival hopes to provide listeners a way into 20th century music, helping build a determination and curiosity to understand rather than a knee-jerk reaction of disgust. The whole series is a fantastic idea and can only help to increase classical music patronage in England, which has seen rises in audience numbers recently (the Proms played to 94% capacity this year). With all of the extra materials in addition to the concerts, 2013 should prove to be an extremely interesting year for music in London. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting event!

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Cairo Opera House Stages Children’s Concert

Everyone can remember going to at least one children’s concert when they were young. Instead of the usual two-hour spectacle of dark, brooding symphonic music, orchestras cut the program to happy-meal sized portions and perform lighter works, commonly with a narrative element, that capture a child’s imagination. While concerts like this may be tedious for adults, many kids really do love them. Pieces like Saint-Saens “Carnival of the Animals,” which can be done with a narrative element and uses plentiful animal imagery, is a favorite at these concerts. It keeps the kids interested and teaches them a lot about the orchestra since it uses different instruments and sections to illustrate the animal personalities.

Probably for these reasons the Cairo Opera House chose “Carnival of the Animals” along with Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” to stage their own children’s concert, a rarity in the Egyptian capital. The two works were complemented by bilingual narration from Ahmed Mokhtar, who recited every sentence twice, once in Arabic and once in English. The children were reportedly well behaved, better so than one father, who apparently feel asleep. Enthusiasm was high after the concert, with the children breaking out into whistling and other noises; parents threw flowers at the musicians’ feet to show their appreciation.

This kind of initiative is great for an organization anywhere, but it’s particularly helpful in a place like Egypt, where classical music isn’t necessarily the norm. While there are symphony orchestras and opera, what we consider classical music is viewed as slightly more western. What’s more, children are not likely to have a relationship with classical music growing up. Concerts like this are an easy way to change that, and there are many benefits for parents as well. Not only are you introducing you children to something great for them, but you’re also getting a night out on the town, mixing your babysitting duties with culture. Hopefully children’s galas at the Cairo Opera House are initiative that Egyptians can anticipate for years to come.

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Opera Project in Cardiff Gives Homeless People a Voice

With all of the trouble going on with orchestras striking and struggling to save their seasons, I find it’s helpful to take a step back and think about why music is important. Through all of the bitter contract disputes, it helps to remember the reason that these organizations started in the first place: to bring music to others. Orchestras represent a belief that music is important to society and that having regular access to music is beneficial for the audience. Large scale musical productions like orchestras and opera remind us of music’s transformative powers, of its relevance to our daily lives.

One great example of the value of music to people’s lives comes from Cardiff in the United Kingdom. The Welsh National Opera recently partnered with the group Streetwise Opera to give weekly singing workshops to the homeless, eventually culminating in performances at the WNO and a London performance in 2013. Streetwise Opera, whose motto is “giving homeless people a voice,” is an organization that helps the homeless and formerly homeless to gain confidence, self-esteem, and practice building a skill through weekly music workshop programs. Every two years, they put on a full-scale production that gives participants the opportunity to take on a role in live productions like the one at the WNO. The workshops are both rigorous and inspiring, offering participants a multitude of opportunities beyond just music such as trips and work placement. Take a look for yourself!

The quotes from Streetwise’s homepage are particularly heart-warming: “Now I feel I have a fire burning inside of me again… to live, to create, to have fun and to experience life CLEAN!!!”; “Being homeless means that for many people, I don’t exist. With Streetwise Opera I do more than exist, I live.” What Streetwise Opera does illustrates the true value of musical organizations to society at large. Opera is not just for an aging elite who want to spend hundreds of dollars on box seats. It can having a lasting effect on everyone; with the participants who take part in Streetwise, it transforms lives. Learning to perform opera has given past clients the confidence they needed to pick themselves up and try to return to work or back to their families. By learning that they have innate talents and that they can demand a professional standard from themselves, they build self-esteem. So even among the fighting between orchestral musicians and their management, let’s all take a moment to reflect on what music means, and  how important it is to our entire society. It’s more than just entertainment and business. Streetwise Opera has shown us why.

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Students in Manchester Bring Classical Music Out of Concert Hall to the Public

If the classical music community truly wants to change its audience demographic by attracting more young people to concerts, then there’s one obvious way to do that: have young musicians reach out to the public. If music students organize concerts that are designed to attract people their own age, then they will be able to build new audiences that will want to keep coming back. This is because music students understand the younger generation the best; they get the internet based culture, the desire for interactive experience and sharing that has become a key part of the young demographic. What’s more, young musicians understand best the changes happening in other forms of art through their interactions with visual artists and other who are also their friends. In a culture of interaction and sharing of information, interdisciplinary art thrives.

This is the approach that three young composers from the Royal Northern College of Music are taking in their new music project Collectives and Curiosities. The goal of the project, as eloquently stated by the student-composer Jacob Thompson-Bell, is all about taking classical music into uncharted territories and challenging the public’s assumptions about the art form:

The concert hall is only one context in which to hear music; there’s nothing inherently wrong with it but it shouldn’t be the only setting. Surroundings do a lot to form people’s impressions of an experience; we want to present our music in as many different ways as we can.

The emphasis is about doing something different, but at the same time not completely abandoning the past. The concert hall is certainly a valid context in which one can experience classical music; however, Thompson-Bell and his friends also understand that music does not need to have one exclusive home. The more places concerts take place, the more likely people are to encounter classical music.

The way the audience interacts with the music also extremely important to the way these young composers are putting on concerts. The event is a fully interactive experience. Anyone who enters the room is recorded by various microphones. Then the recordings are mixed down and filtered through the gallery. This allows the audience to choose how much they want to engage with the audio process—whether they want to interact with the environment and how much they want to listen is entirely up to them. In addition, there are comment boards, interactive scores, and participatory events that ensure that the audience has a complete array of choices that allow them to participate in the production of the work. One of the students, Emma-Ruth Richards, had this to say about the process:

People that would never come to hear a contemporary piece for string quartet will likely come because they have been invited to see an art installations and visa versa. As everyone who visits will contribute towards the final piece, the outcome is, as yet, completely unknown.

This is a very exciting project happening in Manchester. Not only does this kind of event attract a young demographic and hopefully intrigue listeners who might not previously wanted to hear a contemporary composition, it also builds a future for young musicians to produce classical music. Instead of worrying about whether the concert hall will survive or not, students need to make their own opportunities in the world. They know how their culture works and what kinds of concerts their peers would enjoy attending, so what they need to do is simply create experiences that reflect the values of youth culture and get people to come to them. It’s not easy to buck trends, but as these young composers are showing us, it is possible to create a whole new type of concert experience. With a wider amount of musical offerings, classical music can only benefit, and that’s something everyone all age groups can get behind.

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Billings Symphony Orchestra Dramatizes Performance with Acrobats and Aerialists

It’s not every day that you see aerialists and acrobats performing death defying feats right before your eyes. It’s a whole other story when you see just that at a symphony orchestra concert. But this is exactly what happened during the opening night concert at the Billings Symphony Orchestra of Billings, Montana. As music director Anne Harrigan led the BSO in excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, guest artists Tatyana Petruk and Olga Pikhienko performed interpretive dances on balancing canes and aerial silks.

Petruk, who is a world champion Russian aerialist, performed 15 feet above the orchestra, spinning in every way imaginable through white and red silk fabrics. Pikhienko, a veteran of Cirque du Soleil, performed from only two feet above the ground, but was equally impressive using three balancing posts to contort her body into magical shapes. Take a look for yourself!

The BSO, much like the entire Billings Metropolitan Area, has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Their orchestra has taken on more concerts to create a dynamic season with a few creative twists. Other larger symphonies could learn from the success of the Billings Symphony Orchestra. Instead of going with the normal season of symphonic concerts featuring just the orchestra, the BSO knows that it sometimes takes a little extra flair to intrigue audiences. Especially in a season opener, why not try to start the year off with a bang rather than a normal symphonic concert. Billings residents will remember the stunning combination of aerobatics and music for weeks to come. This, hopefully, will help to get people coming back, and continue the orchestra’s growth for years to come!

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