The UBC Symphony Orchestra’s (UBCSO) final show of 2023 was a glamourous nod towards some defining compositions of 20th century North America, rooted in classical and injected with jazz.
After the ensemble opened the program with Canadian composer Violet Archer’s 1940 piece “Poem for Orchestra,” UBC Director of Orchestras Dr. Jonathan Girard took to the microphone to welcome a packed Chan Centre on December 8.
“[The program] seemed to remind me of the classic haircut, the mullet, where you have business in the front and party in the back,” joked Girard.
The simplest way to describe the progression of the program would be a slow lean into playful and frothy works, beginning with Archer’s beautifully technical composition, and rounding off the show with Gershwin’s rhapsodic “An American in Paris.”
“[The program has a] lighter second half,” said Girard. “There's a more jazz-influenced quality to that music which makes it feel improvisatory.”
The ensemble characterized “Poem for Orchestra” with mystical, light and airy tones, outlined by flute and legato strings.
Archer’s poem was followed by African-American composer Ulysses Kay’s “Concerto for Orchestra.” This was the first time the piece was ever performed in Canada.
At a time when his contemporaries were painting with the colours of jazz, the ensemble demonstrated that Kay was composing in a league of his own, weaving through dissonant and heroic motifs.
The works of the program meet in an unlikely place — Tanglewood in Massachusetts.
“I've known Violet Archer's [work], and I thought it would pair particularly well with [Ulysses Kay’s] because both Violet Archer and Ulysses Kay were eventually students of Paul Hindemith,” Girard explained in an interview with The Ubyssey.
Hindemith was a notable member of the teaching faculty of Tanglewood. Since its inauguration in the late '30s, the prized music venue and festival has become one of the most significant centres for classical music in the world — and an important point in Bernstein’s career where he taught conducting.
“In a way I am bound to Bernstein because he was my teacher's teacher, my grandfather teacher, if you will,” Girard added — a piece of UBC factoid that ties everything right back to our campus.
“Three Dance Episodes" from On the Town was dominated by clarinet and saxophone, particularly in the work’s final movement “Time Square.” The orchestra danced their way through the entire score both musically and literally, striking syncopated themes and arpeggios to form a vibrant texture portraying the streets of '40s New York.
It was easy to see where Bernstein drew his bohemian compositional style from. A piece by Gershwin seemed like the natural answer to a finale.
“Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ is such a significant work for the orchestra,” Girard said. “It doesn't get performed all that much in Canada.”
Gershwin journeyed to Paris and found inspiration in emulating the dazzling rage of its 1920 heartbeat through orchestral prose in what would become his 1928 masterwork.
During “An American in Paris,” it was easy to close your eyes and imagine skipping amongst Montmartre's cobblestone pathways, giddy and naïve, with the lilting strings guiding like a map and the brass and car horns beckoning something unexpected around every corner.
And yes, you heard correctly — Gershwin cleverly integrated automobile ambience into his score, and the UBCSO came equipped with a set of taxi horns to carefully emanate the Parisian roaring bustle.
“I thought it was a fantastic concert. It seemed as if people were really engaged,” said Girard. “I was getting the sense that they were really eager to hear that music and I thought that they responded very enthusiastically to the second half.”
As Girard drew out Gershwin’s theme in the last few bars, the orchestra ended the night with a burst of fortissimo sound.
“We'd love to play for anyone and everyone in the UBC community who wants to come and listen,” Girard said. “We're looking forward to welcoming as many people to the next sets of concerts.”