BUTLER TWP — For the past several years the Butler County Symphony Orchestra has presented innovative and exciting guest soloists and ensembles in its programs.

The "Gold" concert on Saturday at Butler Intermediate High School auditorium was no exception. The guest soloist was Jamey Turner, nationally known master of the glass harp.

His instrument consists of 60 brandy snifters, a few of them very large, containing specific amounts of distilled water. The amount of water in each snifter determines the pitch of the snifter.

Sometimes it is necessary to remove some of the water in the snifter and this is done with a turkey-baster. Turner uses A440 as his pitch and the accompanying orchestra must also be tuned to A440.

Using any other water than distilled adversely affects the friction of fingers on the glass and makes for a poorer sound.

The glass harp is an old instrument for which both Beethoven and Mozart wrote music.

Jamey Turner played a serenade, "The Lily and the Rose," which Beethoven wrote as an accompaniment to a poem which Turner recited in the original German and then in English.

Turner included volunteers from the audience in his performance. Five volunteers provided a bagpipe-like drone to his playing of the Kerry Dance. Later, more volunteers were recruited to play wrenches and screwdrivers, meticulously tuned as accompaniment to Turner's rendition of a Bach Bouree.

The main portion of Turner's performance was the third movement of Beethoven's Violin Concerto for which he played the violin solo part. He remarked afterward that when he adds just a few more brandy glasses to his harp he will be able to play the whole concerto.

The orchestra opened the concert with a polka from The Age of Gold ballet with a prominent xylophone part played expertly by Juliette Trudeau.

The concert closed with the playing of Tchaikovsky's monumental "Symphony No. 6."

The opening movement began very quietly with a slow passage in the low strings. It seemed almost as if the low strings sneaked in.

The symphony is full of interesting passages for wind instruments. In the late 19th century, works for orchestra featured more wind and percussion instruments than earlier orchestra compositions had.

The second movement is the delightful Allegro con grazia in 5/4 time.

The scherzo, Allegro molto vivace, is a march-like movement. The final movement Adagio lamentoso ends as quietly as the symphony began. The music of this, Tchaikovsky's final symphony, is somber and in minor key. Its subtitle, "Pathetique," explains the mood of the symphony. The orchestra played it wonderfully and with sensitivity.