Energetic, talented director finalist brightens with program
Oak Ridge Civic Music Association's brainstorm to allow the community to participate in selecting its new music director was very smart. For sure it’s working. It is also creating a fun guessing game for the audience while filling our ears with big league music.
ORCMA showed off its latest music director finalist, the third of four candidates, in a most excellent concert Sunday afternoon, Oct. 30. Wilbur Lin is an energetic talented director, and clearly brightened up the place with his program, which he called “You have not seen a brighter sky.” He is currently assistant professor of music at Northern Illinois University and music director designate of the Missouri Symphony.
The pieces he chose certainly brightened it. The program began with a Monteverdi piece sung by a select group from the Oak Ridge Chorus, conducted adroitly by their director Brenda Luggie. Its subject was a love-sick young man who, yes, looked skyward for consolation. The entire chorus continued the program with a piece by English composer John Blow, a light and charming polyphonic number, which persisted in singing to the muses.Looking skyward continued with a pleasant piece by Mary Howe called – no surprise - “Stars.”
Some relief for the cricks in our necks was provided by Komm Hoffnung - translation “Come hope” - from Beethoven’s one and only opera "Fidelio." The soloist maestro Lin chose for his concert had a voice not only beautiful, but able to go skyward - quite high - at the same time with much warmth. Soprano NaGuanda Nobles, an amazing discovery by Lin who, we're quite sure, will be noted in much more prominence as time goes by.
Lin allowed the Oak Ridge Symphony’s string section to have its day with many beautiful and challenging pieces to follow. "Starburst," by Jessie Montgomery, for one, plus "Lyric for Strings," by George Walker, a beautiful but somber tribute to Walker’s grandmother. Keep them coming!
We got to hear more from Ms. Nobles, “I am Moses” from Songs of Harriet Tubman by Nkeiru Okoye, that again showed off her amazing and beautiful range.
The afternoon’s winner, however, was Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, Opus 110a. The energetic maestro Lin brought out the best of a very talented orchestra, much to the delight of an enthusiastic audience.
All this encouraged icing on the cake with “Go Down Moses” as an encore, with the Chorus in shuffle mode joining in.There’s more to come!
Becky (grandmother) Ball is a longtime music reviewer for The Oak Ridger.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Energetic, talented director finalist brightens with program
