PeoriaStory

Heartland Festival Orchestra's Invitation to Dance

WASHINGTON, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra's October 22 program "Invitation to the Dance" was fabulous, with classical dance music and ballet dancers on stage.

Along with Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky was the world premiere of "The Popcorn Hat" by Jeff Beal, a new musical piece based on Carl Sandburg's "Rootabaga Stories." It was a clever musical composition featuring the two dancers Lauren Pschirrer and Mengjun Chen who also brilliantly danced to selections from Swan Lake, and Pschirrer to the Firebird Suite (1919).

Students from Peoria Ballet danced to selections from the Nutcracker Ballet, and were terrific. Meanwhile the orchestra sounded wonderful, rich and full. 

The audience cheered and applauded the dancers, and at the close of the program rose for a standing ovation, well deserved.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

Vivaldi in Peoria

PEORIA, IL -- In this time of political despondency, what better distraction than a hard core classical music concert. It happened on Nov. 15 at the lovely St. Mary's Cathedral. The Peoria Symphony Orchestra, playing for a sold-out audience, dived into the Baroque, 17th and 18th century music, Bach, Vivaldi and more.

The Bach piece was the familiar Orchestra Suite No. 2 in B minor. The Vivaldi was the Four Seasons, lush, thrilling. The sound in the cathedral was terrific, the soloists and orchestra were flawless.  And the concert is repeated on Nov. 16 at 3 pm.

The concert was accompanied by a fine 40-page program, filled with information, photographs, thorough notes on the music, even a poem by music director and conductor George Stelluto.

There were no requirements to enter with clear plastic bags or walk through metal detectors, as occurs at the Peoria Civic Center. 

Apparently many in the audience were not that familiar with classical music, as they clapped between movements. But that can be forgiven, as this was a lovely event.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Heartland Festical Orchestra plays to silent films

EAST PEORIA, IL -- In one of the oddest events yet, the Heartland Festival Orchestra's November 9 concert featured the music to two classic silent films, presented in a new venue, the Illinois Central College's auditorium.

The music was lovely and well played.  The films, on large screens, were strange and dated, with  lots of fighting and pratfalls that were supposed to be funny but failed at humor.

The films were Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid," (1921) a 60 minute film, and "The Count," (1916) a 30 minute film. The orchestra accompanied both films, with the hour-long, non-stop "Kid" likely an ordeal for the players.

The program demonstrated how music is timeless but films like these are dated. Still, they are a window into the past in acting, costumes, sets and even plots. 

The "Kid" was written, directed, produced and acted by Chaplin. It was the better of the two films, showing how Chaplin matured as an artist from the "Count" with its endless pratfalls. Chaplin also wrote, directed   and acted in it. The music was by Craig Safan  from the original score. 

Music for "Count" was by Erich Korngold from Suite from "Much Ado About Nothing."

Thus an interesting concert was pulled together. It wasn't Mozart but something different.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Cher Show is terrific

PEORIA, IL -- The Cher Show opened on June 4 at the Peoria Civic Center Theater, and plays again on June 5.  Don't miss it!

This show embodies everything a fine Broadway production should have.  The huge cast is terrific, all fine singers and dancers. The costumes are incredible and very sexy. The settings are brilliant, flashy, imaginative. The script is very clever. Even the musical numbers are just right, not too long.

The show is an  A-plus,  It cleverly follows the life of Cher, as a person, as a performer, as a feminist.

Only one thing  is missing -- no printed programs, so we don't know whether this is an Actor's Equity company.  Given their skill levels, I suspect they are.

Of course they got a standing ovation, well deserved.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

Incredible Gershwin

WASHINGTON, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra's final concert of the season on May 25 at Three Points Auditorium, was an incredible event, with three works by George Gershwin, and his Rhapsody in Blue performed by a brilliant pianist, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner.

Winner of the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Competition and other awards, he was a compelling soloist and performer on the Rhapsody concerto, backed by the large orchestra. The audience leaped to its feet, and he played a brief solo for an encore.

The other Gershwin works, An American in Paris and Lullaby were also engaging. In addition the orchestra played a Duke Ellington Medley of classic pieces, with artistic director/conductor David Commanday explaining that Ellington and Gershwin were friends and equally interested in jazz.

This was one of the most exciting of the Heartland Festival Orchestra's many concerts. The sound was terrific and the fast pace of the jazz/classical works left only one reaction: Wow!

  -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Beethoven the Magnificent

PEORIA, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra's all Beethoven concert on April 6 occurred at an unusual place, Venue Chisca, a converted warehouse with crystal chandeliers in Peoria's Warehouse District.

There was no stage, so the audience was seated next to the orchestra while it played an all Beethoven program, Symphony No. 1, the Coriolan Overture, and to top it off, Symphony No. 5.  The sound in the venue was fabulous, and the Beethoven pieces were wonderful. 

Artistic director/composer David Commanday enlivened the event even more with commentary on Beethoven's music before and after the pieces, and between each movement of the symphonies. He also gave the audience permission to applaud between the movements, and it did.

"My purpose is to 'break the mold' of the classical concert -- to create an un-concert...setting up a new scene for a performance adventure. This is a first in Central Illinois," Commanday wrote in the program. He succeeded.

The only problem -- the chairs were somewhat uncomfortable, with straight backs. Still, the music made up for that.

 -- Elaine Hopkins