Creative partners are special. Wherever you are or whatever you do, there’s usually someone in your life who understands you, contributes to your energy and pushes you to greater heights.
It’s the same for ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. There are special relationships all around.
Related: Pair of artistic directors push performing arts forward
Take Concertmaster Katie McLin and first violinist Marjorie Bagley. They’ve been friends for years. And they love playing violin together.
“A little-known fact about Katie is that she is a fanatic about rollercoasters,” says Bagley.
That love of adrenaline fuels their mutual creative performance.
“A great performance shares some elements of a great ride,” says Bagley. “Musicians who trust each other feel safe to push the boundaries musically. The quick responses needed, the constantly changing landscape, the sense that someone has just pushed me a little further and I have to complete the thought or phrase” makes the experience “so fulfilling for the players and the audience.”
It’s a relationship founded in respect. Bagley’s “technique, rhythm and intonation are at its highest level,” McLin says, which allows for trust to flow between them onstage, creating a special musical relationship.
On March 7, McLin and Bagley will lead ProMusica’s principal musicians on March 7 in Strings Only. It’s a night of showpieces performed at the Pontifical College Josephnium.
The show is a chance for the string musicians to play in various duos and other combinations. If you’ve ever wanted to hear what a race between a cello and a violin sounds like, Bagley suggests you listen closely to the Handel-Halvorsen composition for a real treat.
Then, on April 11, ProMusica’s wind and horn principals take over at the Josephinum for An Evening of Tafelmusik, a rich confection of baroque music from the feasts and banquets of the 16th Century. As with Strings Only, the musicians themselves select all the pieces performed – pieces that they love to play for each other. Look for composer Georg Philipp Telemann, the undisputed rock star of Tafelmusik, in the program.
British composer and pianist Huw Watkins will be at the Southern Theatre on April 18 and 19 as ProMusica hosts the U.S. premiere of his Little Symphony.
This is a unique and creative relationship, as Watkins will not only premiere his latest work with ProMusica, but also switch gears and take the stage as a soloist on Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto. That’s a big risk, especially if his own composition is challenging for the audience. But the talent and depth of ProMusica’s musicians makes the collaboration, for both composer and soloist, a risk worth taking.
Speaking of risks, “hazardeur” is a nickname Music Director David Danzmayr’s brother gave him when they were children in Austria. It means “a hazardous person” (we assume given in the most positive of ways).
“David is an adventurous soul who still respects the tradition of music making,” says ProMusica’s creative partner, principal guest and world-renowned violinist Vadim Gluzman. Perhaps it is exactly the influence of a hazardeur that sparks the inspiration of ProMusica’s world-class musicians.
“I know how the musicians give of themselves in rehearsals and in concerts,” Gluzman says. “I meet them all over the country (playing for other orchestras), and the first thing they tell me is they love working with David and how much the orchestra is rejuvenated.”
The end of ProMusica’s season will be a sparkling two-night celebration May 9 and 10, when Gluzman and Danzmayr take the stage together for the very first time as ProMusica’s official creative team.
ProMusica Executive Director Janet Chen says that with Gluzman’s vision and Danzmayr’s musical leadership, the power duo will help “continue to guide us to become a world-class, top chamber orchestra.”
While Gluzman leans toward programming that is a little outside the box, Danzmayr says it is Gluzman’s stage presence that keeps him grounded as a conductor.
“He’s a great artist, at the height of his career,” Danzmayr says. “He stands on stage, and it looks like a piece of cake.”
Yet the music Gluzman makes is lush and generous. “He gives a conductor a great confidence,” says Danzmayr.
ProMusica Chamber Orchestra Spring Schedule
Strings Only
March 7, 5:30 p.m.
Pontifical College Josephinum
String favorites, including works by Handel and Dvorak, picked by ProMusica musicians.
Katie McLin – Violin
Marjorie Bagley – Violin
Mary Harris – Viola
Marc Moskovitz – Cello
John Pellegrino – Double Bass
An Evening of Tafelmusik
April 11, 5:30 p.m.
Pontifical College Josephinum
Baroque favorites, featuring Bach and Albinoni, picked by ProMusica musicians.
Katie DeJongh – Flute
Donna Conaty – Oboe
Ellen Connors – Bassoon
Tom Battenberg – Trumpet
Aya Hamada – Harpsichord
Schubert & Shostakovich
April 18, 5:30 p.m.; April 19, 7 p.m.
Southern Theatre
ProMusica presents the U.S. premiere of composer Huw Watkins’ Little Symphony.
David & Vadim
May 9, 5:30 p.m.; May 10, 7:30 p.m.
Southern Theatre
Featuring works by Bolcolm, Bruch, Tausky and Schubert.
Music Director David Danzmayr and Creative Partner and Principal Guest Artist Vadim Gluzman share the stage for the very first time.
Cindy Gaillard is an Emmy award-winning producer with WOSU Public Media. Learn more about the weekly arts and culture magazine show Broad & High at www.wosu.org/broadandhigh.
