It had been a few years since our last visit to a concert of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, and I couldn't help thinking throughout that I wish this had been the orchestra of Janet's experience. Orchestras, as well as people, can develop much in fifteen years!
After very creditable performances by the Overture Strings and Prelude Orchestras, the Philharmonia took the stage. Back in Janet's day, students looked forward to graduating from the Phil to the top orchestra, the Symphonic, in order to play the "real" version of major orchestral works rather than reduced arrangements; now the Philharmonic plays the full versions, also. They did a great job with Tchaikovsky's March Slave, Shostakovich's Festive Overture, and—my personal favorite of this concert—Carried Up in the Fields, by John Dupuis. John is now the conductor of the Phil, but in our day he was one of the FSYO's best flute players, and played with Janet in their wind quintet, Quintessence. (We knew him when....)
Best of all, though, John is a composer. I knew that when he was still a teenager, and the FSYO premièred his Atlantis. Universal Studios acknowledged the same by featuring an excerpt from Atlantis at the grand opening of their Islands of Adventure theme park. Here's a link so that you can hear Atlantis for yourself. The oboe solo always makes me tear up; you can guess who played it at the première. If you like that, check out more of John's works on his site.
Shostakovich was featured heavily on this program. After intermission, the Symphonic Orchestra took the stage, beginning with Concerto Competition winner Giancarlo Licitra, playing the first movement of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. Their final piece was the fourth movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. In between they played another new work, LocoMotion by Stella Sung. I 've almost always liked Dr. Sung's music, and this was no exception.
Both the Philharmonic and Symphonic orchestras played excellently, and Giancarlo Licitra superbly.
But back to John Dupuis. After conducting, Carried Up in the Fields, John commented that even when he tries not to write movie music, it comes out sounding like movie music. I don't know how true that really is, but I say,
Go for it, John! Movie music is your destiny.
Back in 1999, after hearing Atlantis for the first time, I wrote in my journal, "Move over, John Williams and James Horner. (I don’t say Patrick Doyle yet, though!)"
Feel free to make me change my mind about Patrick Doyle.
