Kennett Symphony’s 2008-2009 season came to a pealing
conclusion with a performance using Bells of Remembrance during the end of
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture at Longwood Gardens. Also featured during the
Saturday, Aug. 15 season finale was a performance by 15-year-old cellist
Bradley Berman.
No cannons were available for the 1812 Overture. The
National Guard unit that usually provides them is on deployment in Iraq.
Instead, Bells of Remembrance were used to signify the celebration of the
Russian victory over Napoleon.
The Bells of Remembrance was a project of Brother David
Schlatter and the Franciscan Center of Wilmington. The project followed the
Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and used as part of memorial services marking the
anniversary of those attacks.
The 14 bells range in weight from 450 pounds to 9,000 pounds
and hung from a steel frame in an open area behind the stage. Special guests
were selected to ring the bells during the performance. They were used in other
performances of the overture at Winterthur and Rockwood Mansion Museums.
Following the intermission, the performance opened with
Saint-Saen’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op 33. Berman, a student at the
Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, was the featured cellist.
He was the 2007 first place recipient in the Tri-County
Youth Festival Competition, Junior Division and, in 2008, won first place in
the senior division of the Kennett Symphony Orchestra Competition. He won other
first place competitions in 2009 and received a Menges Scholarship in the
Ambler Symphony Competition this year.
The symphony was under the direction of Mary Woodmansee
Green.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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