International experiences cataloged in upcoming symphony concert
Each of the three pieces the Butler County Symphony Orchestra will perform at its concert Saturday, March 7, has international themes and motifs, even though all of them were composed on American soil.
“Crossroads of Sound” will feature George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris”; John Williams’ “Escapades,” featured in the 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can”; and Béla Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra.”
Moon Doh, the orchestra’s music director, said the concert continues the themes of the United States’ semiquincentennial, which each show of the season was built around. The program offers “an introspection of different sounds” that incorporate another instrument associated with the U.S., the saxophone.
“Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ features saxophone, which was not featured in those days,” Doh said. “Gershwin added saxophones to add to the jazziness of the piece. This works perfectly because we are featuring a saxophone in John Williams’ piece.”
Doh said this concert worked out perfectly in its theme and in the student musician who was selected to perform with the orchestra after he sent a video of himself performing. Quin Coltman is studying music education and saxophone performance at Slippery Rock University and his saxophone chops will be on full display thanks to the piece selection of the orchestra.
Additionally, Bartok’s composition gives each section of the orchestra a solo section, Doh said, which plays a pivotal role in the 40-minute piece.
Although the piece’s length seems potentially daunting, Doh said it will continuously entertain the audience and himself.
“Every instrumentalist will be challenged to be a soloist,” Doh said. “After the last note, I always think, ‘Wow, that was a quick concert,’ even though it wasn’t.”
Doh added the show may feature another interesting sound not usually featured in the symphony orchestra other than the saxophone.
“When Gershwin was in Paris, he was mesmerized by taxi horns — that he brought taxi horns back to America and he uses taxi horns in ‘American in Paris,’” Doh said. “We don’t have his taxi horns, but the audience will be hearing some taxi horns.”
For information or tickets for the show, which begins at 7:30 p.m., visit the orchestra’s website at butlersymphony.org.
