Guest conductor David Leibowitz will lead the UW Symphony Orchestra at 7 p.m. tonight in the Fine Arts Concert Hall.
The University of Wyoming Music Department is presenting a performance of “A London Symphony” at 7 p.m. tonight in the Fine Arts Concert Hall. David Leibowitz will be a guest conductor for the performance.
Leibowitz is the music director and founder of the New York Repertory Orchestra, and conducts for both the Massapequa Philharmonic and the New York Opera Exchange.
Leibowitz has been a contributor to the New York musical life and was awarded the “Gift of New York” from the Omega Ensemble of New York in 2011, according to a press release.
The performance will open with “Overture to Prince Igor” by Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin. Blake McGee, a UW associate professor and clarinet player, will be a featured soloist and will perform pieces by Rossini and Debussy.
Ralph Vaughan Williams, a contemporary composer who died in 1958, composed “A London Symphony.” According to the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the symphony was first performed in 1914 and evokes “the contrasting sights and sounds of Edwardian London, including the influence of the Thames and the chimes of Big Ben.”
Working with guest conductors is a learning experience for the musicians, Griffith and Leibowitz said. They learn that there is no right or wrong way of doing things.
“The notes never change,” Leibowitz said. However, the way the conductor approaches the performance may vary slightly.
For instance, one conductor might take a straight line in crescendos while another may approach them in a sort of wave of sound, Griffith said.
“Musicians have to learn to keep one eye on the music and the other eye on the conductor,” Leibowitz said. The conductor’s direction can change from day-to-day and moment-to-moment.
No two conductors direct in the same way. One conductor may like the music to be tight and concise while another might be more open and fluid, Griffith said.
‘The way someone stands creates a different response,” Leibowitz said. And that response is translated in the music.
Both Griffith and Leibowitz belong to the Board of Conductors Guild and have known each other for many years. They will be exchanging conducting duties beginning with Leibowitz being at UW to conduct this performance of the 85 UWSO members. Griffith also will be going to New York in April to conduct a performance there.
Tickets for the UWSO can be purchased online, at the Fine Arts Box Office or by calling 766-6666. Griffith asked that guests make special note of the beginning time and date of this performance. The early start time is to accommodate symphony guests because there also is a basketball game this evening.
