"Music of the Sea" opens BHSO season

By Ruth Milne, Journal staff | Saturday, October 13, 2007

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Rapid City is far inland, but that won't stop the ocean from coming to us in "Music of the Sea," the first concert of the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra's 2007-'08 season.

The sea has inspired countless composers over the centuries, and Jack Knowles and Bruce Knowles will conduct a selection of pieces written between 1828 and 2001, representing a variety of moods and styles.

The most unusual piece, according to Jack Knowles, is "Titanic," which portrays in music the famous tragedy and features a variety of unusual effects creating oceanic sounds.

One remarkable instrument in use that night will be the water gong, which the orchestra has never used before. The large gong is struck and lowered into a tub of water while it is still vibrating.

"It produces this eerie change of pitch and sound," Knowles said.

The score also calls for the gong to be struck while it is partially under water and then pulled back up again.

"It makes kind of an eerie effect," he said. "Of course, the whole story is such a tragic thing that these effects are really underscored by the music."

In fact, Knowles said, the only bright and happy sounds in the whole piece are when "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is performed.

The concert will conclude with a suite of music titled "Victory at Sea," from a 1950s documentary film series about World War II. The music is composed by Richard Rodgers and is a very different flavor from the man famous as part of the Rodgers & Hammerstein duo who wrote for such musicals as "The Sound of Music."

With World War II at the forefront recently due to the new Ken Burns documentary series "The War," Knowles believes music of that era will fit well in the current atmosphere. Older generations will find the music familiar, and younger people will appreciate the music of that bygone era as well.

"Music of the Sea" kicks off a season that promises variety and entertainment of all kinds.

The Christmas concert on Dec. 1 will feature traditional seasonal favorites such as "The Nutcracker Suite," as well as more unexpected selections.

"Winter Holiday," by Sergei Prokofiev of "Peter and the Wolf" fame, was written during the communist era about the Young Pioneers camp for children. While not strictly a Christmas piece, it features descriptive music depicting a train ride, ice skating, a bonfire and other wintertime activities.

"It's something that I don't think has been played very much around here. In fact, when I first mentioned it, nobody had heard of it," Knowles said.

An optional bit featuring children singing in Russian about the communist children's organization will not be a part of the program, however.

That concert will conclude with musical accompaniment for the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," read by Streeter Shining.

The New Year's Eve program this year will feature Celtic music and dance. "It's the same idea - not the same music, but along the same lines," Knowles said, referring to the well-received Celtic program on New Year's Eve 2005.

Soloists Mike Hill, a Rapid City native, and his wife Dawn Edwards, on double bass and harp, respectively, will be featured at the March concert, "And the Winner Is ..."

On that night, attendees also will discover what musical selection won the "People's Choice" in voting that took place last season.

The season's final concert will be something of a departure from the symphony's regular programming. The orchestra will be split for most of the night, with the evening starting off with the wind ensemble playing a 30-minute program of music strictly for winds.

The strings take over for the second part, and the third act will feature all sections finally united to perform Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony."

Knowles is excited about the coming season, and credits the dedicated musicians he works with.

"The adults are all working people, and they devote their time to the symphony ... because they really enjoy playing," he said.

"We're very fortunate to have this many players in the small community," he said, adding that musicians come from all across the area, as far away as Spearfish and Newell, out of love for performing music.

If you go

What: Black Hills Symphony Orchestra presents "Music of the Sea"

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13

Where: Rushmore Plaza Civic Center theater

Tickets: $8-$26. Call 394-4111 or 1-800-GOT-MINE or go to www.gotmine.com

The symphony's season

Black Hills Symphony Orchestra season schedule at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center theater:

- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13 - "Music of the Sea" features sea-inspired works by various composers, including the new composition "Titanic" by Peter Boyer, the American composer of last season's epic "Ellis Island: The Dream of America."

- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 - "Christmas Traditions" opens with Tchaikovsky's beloved "The Nutcracker Suite." Guest artists are from the Suzuki School.

- 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31 - "A Celtic New Year's Eve II" features fiddlers, dancers, singers and pipers.

- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8 - "And the Winner Is ..." features the "People's Choice" selected by audiences in the 2006-'07 season, as well as the 29th Annual Young Artist Competition winner.

- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 - "Two Faces of the Orchestra" highlights the unique colors of two essential elements of the symphony orchestra, with Act I featuring strings, and Act II winds and percussion.