I got an earworm last Saturday morning. It’s not contagious, just annoying. And I blame it all on Michael Hall. But more of that later.
Last Saturday morning was the always enjoyable and ever-popular Kennett Symphony Orchestra concert in the round in the soaring Grand Ballroom of the Mendenhall Inn.
If you remember the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon, you’ll recall the center stage and the audience seated around the performers. It was fun.
And Maestro Hall makes classical music fun, as he introduced Saturday’s audience to a composition “from the inside out,” with musical themes demonstrated by the orchestra as well as little-known facts.
The featured composition at Saturday morning’s “Schubert & Champagne” was Franz Schubert’s (1797 – 1828) iconic Unfinished Symphony. Unlike Mozart who actually died while composing his “Requiem,” a very much alive Schubert completed two of four movements of his Symphony #8 in D minor, and for some still unknown reason tucked it away for another time. It was found in a friend’s desk drawer 37 years after Schubert’s death and received its first performance in 1865.
I learned a lot Saturday morning. While the orchestra was warming up, we struck up a conversation with the principal trombone, Jarred Antonucci, who was playing an alto trombone. A what? A smaller trombone, it’s related to the 15th-century sackbut and enjoyed a revival in the late 20th century
And as we were seated just behind the brass section, we were able to observe one of the trumpet players using his iPad as his score. Another musician was using his cell phone!
The use of digital scores has been a trend in rock, folk, and jazz for about a decade and seems to be making its way into the symphonic world. No turning pages during a difficult passage, just tap your foot pedal accessory.
And here’s a little something extra for our friends in Kennett Square. Schubert was an unassuming man, small of stature, with thin curly hair. His best friends called him…wait for it… here it comes…Little Mushroom. Maybe the Kennett Symphony Orchestra could take him on as their mascot.
So, here’s where the earworm comes in. The term “Ohrwurm “first came into use in Germany over 100 years ago. It refers to an infectious tune that creeps into your ear and you can’t get rid of it.
While Hall was introducing the symphony’s first movement, he sang a little song that helped school children remember Schubert’s pleasantly lilting melody.
“This is the Symphony that Schubert wrote and never finished.”
Oh no. In my 14 years teaching music, I had never heard those words. But now it was in my head for the afternoon. All through the first movement, I kept singing, “This is the symphony, that Schubert wrote and never finished.”
Gee thanks, Michael.
Before we left, I asked Hall about his experience directing his other symphony orchestra in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada where he is preparing to leave to conduct their Christmas Season.
He answered, “Fantastic. The experience is very much the same in front of any group of good musicians.”
The Kennett Symphony Orchestra is the only professional orchestra in Chester County, and we anxiously await Hall’s return for another year.
About Sally Denk Hoey
Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”
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