GBS "Stars & Stripes" Concert at the Klein, April 28

The Greater Bridgeport Symphony closes its season with patriotic flair as Eric Jacobsen conducts “STARS AND STRIPES,” the fifth and last concert of the season in the “Revolutions and Revelations” series, on Saturday April 28 at 8:00pm at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport, CT.

GBS commissioned a new work, “Touch Of Nature,” by fiddler / violinist / composer Jeremy Kittel but unfortunately, he broke his arm and will not be able to present the piece in April.  Instead, the concert will begin with a symphonic version of the now-iconic Ashokan Farewell, principal theme from Ken Burns’ seminal documentary series The Civil War, composed by Jay Ungar.  Though the piece was written in 1983, it will surely evoke historical images and memories of the early music – the songs – of the United States.

“This entire season has been about revolutions in music, from Russia, Spain and France,” saysJean Moffitt, GBS President. “The April concert highlights music that came out of the American Revolution.  We’re closing out the season feeling red, white and blue all over!”  The concert will begin, naturally, with The Star-Spangled Banner.

The concert will also feature the music of Aaron Copland, Scott Joplin and George Gershwin.  GBS will perform Copland’s timeless Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man.  Called the “Dean of American Composers,” Copland’s work is instantly recognizable to most people; Fanfare, though short, is an iconic, triumphant work.  Next the concert looks at two authentic musical geniuses, who could only have come to life in post-Civil War America:  Scott Joplin, the son of former slaves, and George Gershwin, the son of Eastern European immigrants from Brooklyn.  Joplin is, of course, best known for his ragtime music, which had its revival in 1973 with The Sting.  Lesser known is perhaps Joplin’s most important work:  a full-fledged, all-American opera called Treemonisha, which he defiantly wrote in 1911 after having been ignored as a serious composer.  Treemonisha is a story of former slaves, trying to shake off superstition in favor of reason in the 1880s South; the music is, of course, entirely in English.  Joplin never got to see the piece performed in his lifetime, beyond a staged reading accompanied only by a piano.  In the 1970s, the full opera was orchestrated and performed; however, most arrangements were written for small orchestras.  “We wanted to do something big with this piece,” said GBS Executive Director Mark Halstead, “so we had a brand-new arrangement written for our nearly 60-piece orchestra by composer Rex Cadwallader.  It’s all the best of the opera, in grand style, as we think Joplin might have hoped for.”  An added thrill in this concert is the chorus parts of Treemonisha, which will be sung by Bridgeport’s own Harding High School Choir under the direction of Sheena Graham.

The concert closes with one of Gershwin’s grandest compositions:  Cuban Overture.  Never before performed by GBS in its 72 years – the required brass, wind and percussion parts are triple the standard orchestra complement – it’s a celebration of Gershwin’s ability to see himself as an American citizen-of-the-world.  Gershwin wrote the piece after visiting Cuba in 1932.  “It’s just so big,” says conductor Eric Jacobsen, “we nearly took it off the table.  Then we had an idea:  last spring, GBS ran a competition for brass, wind and percussion students, and all of these amazing young musicians came out – and Cuban Overture needed all these extra brass, wind and percussion players!”  GBS parlayed the idea into a season-long mentoring program, wherein eight of the very best brass, wind and percussion students from the region – from Guilford to Weston – would train alongside GBS professionals and perform Gershwin’s masterpiece at the April concert.  This “GBS Brass-Wind-Percussion Experience ‘18” is sponsored in part by R. D. Scinto Enterprises and Bob and Diana Graziano.  “We’ll close the season with a bang,” says Halstead.  “People will leave The Klein that night with a real lift, and with a great sense of the potential that American ideals released in the arts.”

The April concert will also host the annual Silvio Risi Awards for outstanding high school musicians.  “It may sound corny to use the expression ‘The night is young,’ but in fact, everything about the April concert is fresh and youthful, like the American dream,” says Halstead.  “We’ve spent the season exploring musical possibilities and doing some very daring work.  This concert is the culmination of that spirit of revolution, and it will continue into next season and beyond.”

Premiering on September 22, GBS’s next theme is “A Season in Space:  A Celebration of Flight in Music on the 50^th Anniversary of the Moon Landings.”  The full content of the season will be announced at the April concert, but some hints have been dropped:  Holst’s The Planets suite, the music of 2001:  A Space Odyssey, Clair de Lune, and an exciting modern composition by Mason Bates, inspired by the speeches of John F. Kennedy.  The preliminary announcement for the season, made at GBS’ March 3 concert, was “We Choose to Go to the Moon – Come Along for the Ride!”  Subscriptions will go on sale on April 28.

Tickets are $15, $29, $39, $49 and $59 (charges apply).  Family Pack Deals are available:  all kids under 19 get in for $10 (any seat), and accompanying adults get 15% off.  A family of five can come to this concert for as little as $55.50 (charges may apply).