Music Director Laura Jackson (TCCF 2004) leads the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus this Sunday in a world premiere celebration of the 200th anniversary of the U.S. National Anthem. Jackson opens the concert with her new edition of the “Festival Overture on the American National Air” by one of America’s most popular 19th century composers—Dudley Buck.
The gala closes with Michael Gandolfi’s powerful retelling of the Anthem story—Chesapeake: Summer of 1814—a 27-min. choral-orchestral tone poem recounting the burning of Washington and the American victory at Baltimore that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen his now famous lyric.
“I’ve fallen in love with beauty of the poetry and Francis Scott Key’s passionate vision of freedom. Michael’s “Chesapeake” is thrilling to perform because it so beautifully draws the listener into the dramatic events leading up to writing of Key’s song. The listener lives through the defeats at Bladensburg and the burning of Washington only to be defeated again at North Point. By the time the British arrive at Baltimore, you sense America’s desperation and its soldiers’ weariness. When ultimately the battle is won and the Anthem begins, it is an incredibly powerful, emotional moment.”
Staging that splits the chorus into two, representing the American and British forces, and powerful accompanying imagery heighten the emotional intensity of the experience for listeners.
“Anne Patterson has an exquisite sense of how to illuminate a musical work and deepen one’s engagement with it. Her visuals never distract from the aural experience. They merely take you by the hand and draw you right into the middle of it.”
The concert will be repeated on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. Laura Jackson is a founding board member of the Star Spangled Music Foundation, which has been working to celebrate the power of music in American life witnessed by Key’s song, see http://www.starspangledmusic.org for more information.
Link to Anne Patterson http://www.annepatterson.com/content/about.htm
Link to RPO concert listing http://www.renophil.com/events/classix-one/