What a nice way to end a season with a wide variety of music from France, Spain and America! Gershwin’s “American in Paris” is a fun piece describing the clamor and beauty of Paris, a city that has been on our minds a lot recently. Part of the clamor comes from traffic noises that are […]
Category: Orchestra
Tony Award Winner Leslie Odom, Jr. in Knoxville this week – and he’s a nice guy, too
Leslie Odom. Jr. is a “Triple Threat” (singer, dancer, actor) and he’s done everything from the TV screen to Broadway, and he’s coming to Knoxville for one night only. “The world will never be the same…” (Yes, that’s a lyric from Hamilton…) If you’re not familiar with the Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” it’s a spellbinding work, […]
Morph into Spring with this week’s music (Mendelssohn and More)
Just because it’s an interesting transition between playing the music of Pink Floyd on Saturday and moving on to Masterworks this week doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The Pink Floyd crowd loved the concert, and it’s always nice to play for an appreciative audience. (Picture a rock band backed by a full orchestra playing […]
March Forecast: KSO Goes to Washington
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will travel to Washington, D.C. in March 2020 to participate in the ‘SHIFT: Festival of American Orchestras’- where only four American orchestras will perform. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts have announced the four orchestras selected to participate in the third SHIFT: A Festival […]
You Always Have Better Ballet Tickets Than I Do…
I always have a seat under the stage for ballet, so while I get some interesting views of fog, I never get to see whatever is going on in the show. This week changes everything because we have the Appalachian Ballet Company performing while we play romantic music. I always marvel at the dancers and […]
Soiree and Swoon
This past Tuesday, as part of the Knoxville Symphony League’s Elegant Dining Series, the musicians of the KSO hosted a “Symphony Soiree” where we musicians cooked the food and provided the entertainment. The event was a unique chance to get to hear somewhat different music from fellow classical musicians in the orchestra along with the […]
Casting a spell with live music and a beloved film
Playing movie scores is challenging because you have to be flexible and adjust tempos within scenes, but you also do not have the luxury of being able to slow down scenes that are difficult. The rehearsals tend to be intense because you don’t wait for the action in the movie to pass by, you just […]
Chat with the Conductor – Part II
Get to know conductor, coffee drinker and crossword puzzle enthusiast Aram Demirjian in this Q&A post, Part II of II. Read Part I here. 1. Can you briefly describe what made you *sure* you wanted to pursue music as a career? What, if anything, bolstered that decision? I remember I was walking home in college […]
Violins That Bring Hope
As a musician, I enjoy it when people trust me enough to allow me into their world for important events in their lives. We see them at weddings, funerals, church services, and sometimes in the hospital. It’s a privilege to be invited into someone’s world. I’ve enjoyed being a part of the city’s Martin Luther […]
Exploring “New Worlds”
Part of our jobs as musicians is to get others excited about what we do, whether it’s a pops concert, opera, ballet, masterworks, or a new electronic piece that no one’s ever heard. I’m really excited about the January Masterworks concert this week for several reasons. The first piece that we are playing is by […]