By Kathryn Olsen
May 7 sees the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra close its 2020-2021 season with Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family at Timberline Middle School in Alpine. Conductor John Pew agreed to discuss the concert, the talented guest artists, and the thrilling things in store for the next season.
Kathryn: How often has the orchestra been rehearsing since the last time this concert was scheduled and how does your rehearsal process compare to prior to the pandemic?
John: We’ve been meeting weekly and we have rehearsals every Thursday.
Kathryn: I know this concert was originally scheduled for Ludwig van Beethoven‘s 250th birthday, so we’re delighted that it’s being performed at last next weekend.
John: It was scheduled to be performed in May 2020, but that concert had to be canceled when the pandemic started around March. But in the Fall of 2020, we did start our new season. We’ve had five concerts. We’ve had to adjust things—some of them were in-person and some were virtual—but we’ve had concerts.
Kathryn: With those rehearsals and concerts, have you had to make any adjustments to seating and to accommodate masks and social distancing?
John: We have. When we did our first concert in September, it was the height of the pandemic and we felt it was too dangerous to have the entire orchestra come together. So, for that concert, we had a few numbers on the program that were for strings only, then brass only, then woodwinds. We’d have separate rehearsals for them, so for the strings, there would be twenty-five people. Then the brass would come, followed by the woodwinds. In that way, we were able to keep the numbers down.
Kathryn: With this all-Beethoven program, did you construct the program and then contact Jenny Oaks Baker or did you collaborate on the repertoire?
John: Jenny and I talked about it. We have a relationship and talk occasionally and she’s performed with us multiple times. We talked a couple of years ago about Beethoven’s 250th birthday and she mentioned, “I would love to play Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major with my daughters.” I looked into it and realized that it was a great idea, so that’s how this came about.
Kathryn: Regarding her two daughters, Sarah Baker and Hannah Baker, have you worked with either of those performers before?
John: I haven’t. They came to the rehearsal last Thursday and I don’t know that I’d ever met them before.
Kathryn: So their work on the solo parts of the concerto have been in concert with each other. Have there been any things you’ve had to change while rehearsing with them?
John: They’re just minor things that you have to adjust whenever working with any soloist, such as the way that something’s going to be interpreted and there are places when you will want to slow down or speed up. Sometimes, we’ll have to stop to make sure we’re all in sync with that, but it’s all very normal. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, just standard things you work out when you have a soloist of any kind.
Kathryn: For people who are not familiar with the triple concerto, what would you say are the best things to listen for?
John: I think it’s particularly interesting and fascinating when you hear two or three of the soloists performing together in a solo way. There are plenty of times when the orchestra is playing with just one of the soloists or when there are no solos. There are times when the piano and cello are together as opposed to when all three—the piano, violin, and cello—are playing together and sometimes, they’ll pass around a theme. The piano will pass it to the violin and the cello, for example, and it’s very interesting to listen to. To see three soloists playing on the stage together is not very common.
Kathryn: Moving on to Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, what is your advice to people who may be hearing and experiencing it for the first time?
John: It really depends on the background of the person. The seventh symphony by Beethoven is an iconic work. A person who’s never listened to any classical music might not recognize it. For anyone who’s had experience with classical music, there will be familiar themes. The second movement, in particular, is so well-known that people will recognize that theme easily. The symphony’s opening is joyful. The second movement is very soulful and moving and then there’s a great deal of energy and the last movement is this thrilling romp. It’s very exciting and a very great piece. Even if you’ve never heard it before, it has so many catchy tunes and interesting parts that it’s a crowd-pleaser.
Kathryn: It’s definitely one that will make many people say, “Oh, yes, I’ve heard that in a movie somewhere.”
John: Yes, it’s my hope that people will realize they’ve heard it before.
Kathryn: Do you have any hints of what will be coming up in the next season so we can look forward to it?
John: We have some really exciting news. We are planning to, starting with next season’s first concert, move our concert season to the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. We haven’t finalized it because the Utah Valley University Board of Regents has to put their blessing on this. We are very hopeful and have all of the dates reserved, so all of next season is set to be performed at the Noorda. It will start with our first concert in September. We’ve negotiated the price and set the dates and I am beside myself with excitement. The Utah Symphony has performed there several times. It’s beautiful and the sound is magnificent. We’ve performed there once, in December of 2019. when we did a Christmas concert jointly with the UVU choirs. The members of the orchestra were ecstatic because it sounded so great. I had a trumpet player, who has played with us for ten years, come up to me and say, “Tonight was the first time I could hear the cellos.” Timberline Middle School has been great, but the auditorium has a multi-purpose stage and is set up for dramas. With the Noorda Center, that main concert hall was built for orchestral performances, not for putting on musicals and plays, so the sound is great. It’s beautiful and we’re very excited.
Kathryn: Do you know yet what’s on the first program or is that still in process?
John: The first concert in September will be An Evening in Paris, entirely with music by French Composers. We’re going to be doing the Francis Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos and Maurice Ravel‘s Bolero, as well as music by Gabriel Faure and other composers. In October, for our Halloween concert, we’re doing this piece by a contemporary composer, which is called When Instruments Roamed the Earth. It’s almost pre-historic and the original name of the piece was Jurassic Parts. It’s almost a training, so very family-friendly and great for children. There are some costumes that we’ll wear and so forth. Our Christmas concert is probably the one that we have the least detail on, as we don’t quite know what we’ll be doing. In March, we’ll be doing Pictures At An Exhibition, which was written by Modest Mussorgsky, but orchestrated by Ravel. We are going to be doing the Sergei Prokofiev‘s Piano Concerto No. 3, Then our final concert will be Johannes Brahms‘ second symphony. We’ve also invited Jason Bergman, who’s a trumpet professor at Brigham Young University, to join us for a trumpet concerto.
Kathryn: Are there any final thoughts that you’d like to share on the concert for next week?
John: Only that we are thrilled that the Alpine School District is now allowing every seat to be filled. In March, we were only allowed to have a capacity of 25%. That hall holds eight hundred twenty-four, so we were only allowed two hundred six and we didn’t have that many. I think people were afraid to attend and they might be in May, but as far as the school district is concerned, they have lifted that restriction. We’re able to fill every seat as long as everyone wears a mask. We’re hoping that, with the all-Beethoven program that has such great music and Jenny Oaks Baker and her daughters, that will attract a good audience. This is the first concert of the season where we’ve been able to hope for a larger crowd. It’s just those two pieces and there’s no intermission, so it will last just over an hour. It’s really great music and I hope people will enjoy it.
Kathryn: I’m sure we will.
With such a thrilling program, Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family is sure to be an enjoyable experience for audiences of all ages. Hurry to get your tickets before the hall reaches capacity. The concert will also be available through streaming.
Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra Presents Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family
Timberline Middle School, 500 W Canyon Crest Rd, Alpine, UT 84004
May 7-8, 2020, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $9-12
Contact: (801) 210-2466
www.thetso.org
TImpanogos Symphony Orchestra Facebook Page
Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family
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