“Richardson: Then & Now” and Multi-Season Collaboration
Our early November concert with the Richardson Symphony will not only celebrate our country’s shared history, protected wild places, and national pastimes, but it will also mark the completion of an exciting local project and the beginning of a multi-season collaboration.
The first concert series, “American Landscapes,” will feature four nicely contrasting visual concertos that will grace our giant screen at the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts. Led by Maestro Clay Couturiaux, the Dallas-area orchestra has programmed The Eternal Struggle, National Park Suite, Rodeo!, and a new locally inspired piece, Richardson: Then & Now, to accompany their performance.
On the first half of the concert we’ll be delving further into our country’s history with The Eternal Struggle. Set to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, the historical visual accompaniment features hundreds of black and white images portraying one of America’s most pivotal and challenging time periods—the Civil War. The piece also pays tribute to the character and fortitude of Abraham Lincoln and concludes with a poignant vignette from the Civil Rights Movement. Originally co-commissioned by the Akron Symphony and the Orlando Philharmonic, the piece was created by retired Westwater Arts founder, James Westwater, and it has seen many performances from coast to coast accompanied by narrators ranging from Tom Brokaw and Maya Angelou to community leaders of all stripes. The Lincoln narrator in Richardson is going to be recently retired Classical 101.1 WRR radio host Barry Samsula, known in the Dallas-area for his morning show “Breakfast with Barry.”
Next, with National Park Suite we explore another important aspect of history and the American experience. Nicholas Bardonnay produced National Park Suite from photographs made in 30+ national parks and national monuments, all choreographed to Dvořák’s enchanting Largo movement from his New World Symphony, a work the Czech composer wrote in 1893 while getting to know America’s beautiful, wide open spaces and its diverse cultures and musical traditions. Making it extra special, that pairing was also the one we premiered with the National Symphony at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts to celebrate the 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service. Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains are just a few of the dozens of places showcasing America’s most majestic natural treasures.
Closing out the concert is Rodeo!, which is set to Copland’s synonymous work and is always an instant audience favorite. The piece portrays the excitement of a lively small-town rodeo from behind the scenes, with a backdrop of sweeping western landscapes and centuries of ranching heritage in the American West.
But that’s not all…the primary concert highlight for the audience will surely be the new locally sourced and locally inspired piece, Richardson: Then & Now, which is being created entirely from images submitted by local amateur and professional photographers, both past and present, who have shared their visions of the natural beauty, history, people, traditions, lifestyles, and special qualities that make Richardson and its surroundings a wonderful place to live and create. And not so coincidentally, Richardson is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year! Nicholas is now in the process of curating the photo submissions, and he will be choreographing the final selections to Christopher Farrell’s Continuum. Farrell is not only a composer but a violist with the Nashville Symphony.
Nicholas feels fortunate to participate in this wonderful, dynamic project (and concert!) with the RSO while learning so much about the area through the talented and insightful eyes of those who call it home. And because of our upcoming multi-season collaboration, audiences in Richardson are guaranteed to see and hear even more—at least 3 pieces more—so something for everyone to look forward to!
(Finish line high-five and photo of the photo-maker submitted by United Methodist Church, historic image of women’s basketball team submitted by Richardson Public Library, and donut wall image submitted by Jill Burt.)
