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The UConn Symphony Orchestra perform Friday night at von der Mehden Recital Hall where the woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings sections played pieces dedicated to heroes and heroism.

Symphony Orchestra shows heroes are still among us

By: Eric Nigosanti

Posted: 10/13/08

The strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion of the UConn Symphony Orchestra all played in celebration of our nation last Friday night at the von der Mehden Recital Hall.

Under the theme of heroes and heroism, the Symphony Orchestra delivered three epic pieces that symbolized the proudest moments in human achievement. What allowed the orchestra to pull off this bold idea, besides their impressive playing, was the professional feel to the band.

Unlike many high school concert bands, which are normally dominated by a large, all-encompassing brass section, the UConn Symphony Orchestra had a large string section that included basses, cellos, violas, two sections of violins and a harp. This different arrangement of instruments gave the band a similar look to most professional symphony orchestras.

There was something else during the night's performance that gave the orchestra an increased air of professionalism. The orchestra performed the world premiere of Lu Wei's "D.C.A.C. Variations on the Theme of a Chinese Folk Song" led by associate conductor Howard Hsu. Although the original oriental melody was simple, its length and more complex variations made the piece sound quite challenging.

Despite its difficulty, the orchestra successfully transitioned the workman-like beat of one part to the more proud Chinese anthem of another. The crowd also seemed to notice how well the orchestra performed, since the end of the piece was greeted with a long standing ovation.

The only part of the night that may have overshadowed the performance of the piece was the story of how a piece written in China needed to come halfway around the world to finally be performed.

In a couple of speeches before the song's performance, including one by Yuhang Rong, the Assistant Dean of the School of Education, the story was told of the piece's oppressed composer, Lu Wei, living in authoritarian China. Caught by the Red Guards supporting something other than the current government's ideals, Lu Wei was sent to prison and later was forced to work as a janitor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he once taught. In the janitor's closet at the Conservatory, Lu Wei worked on his composition, which he finished and shelved in his study until it was presented to Professor David Woods, the Dean of Fine Arts at UConn.

"I enjoyed the piece a lot," said Chris Novac, a 5th-semester finance major. "It is amazing that the university is so involved with a story like this."

Others were also impressed by both the performance and the story, like Konstantine Miraliotis, a 3rd-semester nutrition major.

"It is a great and wonderful story," said Miraliotis. "It is not often that people sit down and listen to an old man's story anymore."

The Symphony Orchestra did an equally wonderful job with the other two pieces they performed that night. The opening piece, "Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey" by Wagner, proved a good introduction to the band as it started on the bottom with the lower strings and eventually section by section entered, culminating with the trumpets. The other piece was "The Firebird Suite" by Stravinsky, which was in six movements.

Overall, the strong performance by the Symphony Orchestra and the enjoyable pieces showed that heroes and heroism are always worth celebrating.