Proving once again, that Carmina Burana can always draw a crowd, the New Haven Symphony played to a sold out Woolsey Hall on November 8th.
The first half of the concert was given to Carl Maria von Weber in his overture to Oberon, and Tchaikovsky’s Pas d’Action, Panorama and Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, which is probably my favorite Tchaikovsky tune.
The Chorus of Westerly, the Fairfield County Chorale and the New Haven Choral provided the choral parts to Carl Orff’s most popular piece, Carmina Burana. Zachary Johnson, who I have written about many times during his three years in Yale’s opera program, sang with his usual commitment to text, and his voice was perfect for this piece. Tenor Tim Fallon and soprano Lisa Williamson were also beautifully suited to their parts.
Conductor William Boughton who is in his twelfth and final season as conductor of the NHSO, is also a professor of music at Yale. This year, Maestro Boughton will be interim conductor of the Yale Symphony while principal conductor Toshiyuki Shimada is on leave.
The New Haven Symphony has a policy that children under the age of 18 go free to their concerts, with the purchase of an adult ticket. The NSO also has programs specifically for families and children of all ages.
This is precisely the kind of symphony orchestra a city of New Haven’s size should have. One that reaches out to its community and ensures its own future by providing people of all ages an opportunity to hear the world’s great music played by a top-notch orchestra at reasonable prices and plenty of free activities.
Their next concert will be Beethoven’s Third Symphony (the Eroica) and his Piano Concerto Number 4, played by Boris Berman. Here is a performance of Debussy’s Children’s Corner IV, played by Berman.
Check out the rest of New Haven Symphony’s season here:
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