Flute Watch

This Valentine's Day weekend was a romantic time for Dallas/Fort-Worth concertgoers, as that weekend, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra painted yet another beautiful melody for the audience. Culminating in the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, the symphony also played rarely heard pieces including Smetana's Overture to The Bartered Bride, Martinu's Symphony No. 4, and Jerod Tate's Ghost of the White Deer Bassoon Concerto. Overall, the Ghost of the White Deer bassoon concerto was noisy and pesky. There were many added noises that contributed to a sustained ambience, but it did little to carry on a consistent melody. The piece was difficult, overall, for audience members to follow. The piece did, however, had its scintillating moments, which allowed Principal Bassoonist Ted Soluri's sound to soar magnificently and tactfully. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra had the faculty to recreate the timeless essence of Tchaikovsky, and it clearly showed that night. ...

On January 12th, I had an out of body experience. I was not the only one. Thousands of audience members sat stupefied that afternoon as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed their Scheherazade program. The program lasted about two hours total, consisting of Aaron Copland's Quiet City , Julia Wolfe's Dallas premiere Fountain of Youth , Samuel Barber's Andromache's Farewell, and, of course, Rimsky-Korsakov's classical masterpiece  Scheherazade . Quiet City  was a calming, complete portrait, featuring Dallas Symphony players on the trumpet and English horn. Julia Wolfe's Fountain of Youth  was a different story altogether. Eerily cheerful with a subtle diabolic aftertaste, the piece sounded as if it were extracted straight from Bobby Krlic's soundtracks from the horror movie Hereditary. In Samuel Barber's Andromache's Farewell , the featured soprano soloist Lise Lindstrom's ear-splitting range sent chills down the audience's spines....

On Sunday, February 23rd, 3:00pm, the Associate Professor of Flute at Texas A&M University-Commerce Dr. Julee Kim Walker will host her own recital titled Celebrating Women Composers. Presented with the Mu Phi Epsilon Dallas Alumni Chapter Concert Series  in recognition of Women’s History Month in March, this program will feature Alan Dyer, Staff Pianist at TAMUC; Mary Kerr, Principal Flutist of the Abilene Philharmonic; Jessica Morrow, graduate student at Texas A&M University-Commerce; and Allison Adams Rojas, M.M. of Texas A&M University-Commerce. Admission is free to all and open to the public at Dallas Public Library (1515 Young St, Dallas, TX). Free parking will be available in the library garage underneath the venue. The recital will feature Margaret Lowe, Yuko Uebayashi, Catherine McMichael, Da Jeong Choi, Jennifer Higdon, Yuko Uebayashi, Katherine Hoover, and Cecile Chaminade. Dawn Carol by Margaret Lowe ...