Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: http://www.imdb.com Over the weekend at the prestigious, architecturally complex Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the equally prestigious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed an array of pleasing pieces, including Duke Ellington's Harlem.

Rest assured, reader, I am no symphonic scholar. I am in no way able to discuss the niceties of a minuet versus those of a concerto, nor do I have any interest in delving into and dissecting each movement of a given symphony. No, those tasks are left to the experts: the real critics and while I am very much not one of them, I am a college student. And so, it is with your presumed blessing, fellow layperson (and with your patience, music major), that I give the only account of a classical concert I feel fit to give: that of an appreciative but hopelessly ignorant observer.

With that said, there is something unspeakably satisfying in pulling on your sleek, ironed dress pants, buttoning up your favorite collared shirt, and driving (not cabbing) the few miles through downtown Baltimore to Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a night with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. I, for one, decided the night was worth the trip as we walked from the parking garage to the hall. From the outside, the Meyerhoff calls to mind the exterior of Space Mountain, and once through the doors, patrons are greeted by an elegant, red-carpeted array of bowls and terraces, in and upon which concert-goers are encouraged by the presence of various mini cafés and bars to mingle and enjoy pre-show drinks.

Finding our seats, my companion and I continued to marvel at the building's circular architecture. The assortment of balconies jutting out towards the orchestra's waiting instruments reminded me of the senate hall on Coruscant in the newest "Star Wars" installments. (If that allusion whizzed right by you, don't be annoyed--be relieved.) It was therefore with a perhaps premature sense of enchantment that I sat back to enjoy the performance.

As the lights dimmed, the musicians filed in from stage left, a company that counts among its members Loyola instructors Seth Low and Lura Johnson. After a smattering of applause and a moment to tune their instruments, the entire ensemble rose (along with several members of the audience) to greet their director, award-winning maestra Marin Alsop, who wasted little time in introducing the first piece of the night, a Duke Ellington number entitled "Harlem." Though before raising her baton, though, she first took the time to highlight different portions of the song, even going so far as to have the orchestra play 2-3 second samples as illustrations. It was only after this tutorial that she turned her back to us, and so began with Ellington's edgy creation.

Continued...

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