Concertmasters get solos in Artist Series’ Vivaldi and Mendelssohn program

Four concertmasters from around the country get a chance to step into the role of featured soloist for at least a day in one of the final programs in the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota season.

Jun Iwasaki, who joined the Kansas City Symphony this season, will share the Sarasota Opera House stage with Emerson Millar, second assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony (and formerly co-concertmaster of Naples Philharmonic), Rimma Bergeron-Langlois, concertmaster of Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Nikki Chooi, concertmaster of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Each will be taking on one season from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” with an orchestra supporting them, and then join with four other musicians for Mendelssohn’s String Octet.

Among the other musicians performing in the May 9 concert at the Sarasota Opera House, is Daniel Jordan, concertmaster of the Sarasota Orchestra and director of Artist Programs for the Concert Series.

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Millar will perform the “Winter” solo in “Four Seasons,” which she describes as “the most exciting” of the four.

“Every season has things written within the piece as instructions for the musician, but I love the ones written in winter,” she said. “They kind of describe this really chilly day. It says, ‘We shiver in the snow. We carefully walk on ice. We slip and fall.’ Each bit goes so well with what’s happening in the music. I love trying to bring those instructions to life with different techniques.”

As the senior member of the four concertmasters, Iwasaki said he was happy to let Jordan or the others choose which solo he would play. “The other three are younger than me so I said I’ll take whatever’s left.” He’ll be performing the Spring section.

The musicians will be coming together for the first time at a rehearsal, but both Iwasaki and Millar said familiarity with the music makes it easier for them to quickly form an ensemble.

“I think the Octet is something everyone has probably played multiple times,” Iwasaki said. “I’ve played everything but the cello parts. It’s a showstopper. It’s fun for the musicians and fun for the audience and it’s a great way to showcase the musicians.”

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Mendelssohn was just 16 when he wrote the Octet “and it is arguably one of the best pieces he ever wrote,” Millar said. “It showcases the first violin really well, like his violin concerto.”

In planning the concert, Jordan said he wanted to showcase the group of concertmasters. “I think it will be exciting to have all these amazing artists who are leaders in their communities to come together for a really collaborative evening.”

Concertmasters do, on occasion, get to step out as soloists within their own orchestras for pieces like Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade op. 35” or Richard Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben.”

“It’s always fun to get to play a solo and step out of the orchestra realm,” Millar said. “When we’re playing as concertmaster, we’re very much in the fold of the orchestra sound.”

Iwasaki said he gets to jump into the soloist role a few times a year, and then has other opportunities for performances like the Artist Series program or chamber pieces that provide more variety than regular orchestra concerts.

Even though the musicians don’t have a lot of time together before the concert, Iwasaki said “at the level everyone is at for these particular pieces, we’ll all get together and just have a good time and we each get to be showcased as a soloist.”

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 9 at the Sarasota Opera House. Tickets are $30-$60. For more information: 941-306-1200; artistseriesconcerts.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Four concertmasters from across nation get solos in Sarasota showcase