Tacoma, WA — This year celebrates the 150th anniversary of Verdi’s Requiem, his monumental choral masterpiece that transcends the traditional boundaries of the Requiem mass with its dramatic intensity and emotional depths. Symphony Tacoma proudly joins the celebration with its premiere performance of this epic piece at Remembrance on Saturday, February 24th. Symphony Tacoma, Symphony Tacoma Voices, and four renowned soloists means over 160 musicians will be on the Pantages stage.

The Requiem premiered on the first anniversary of Manzoni’s passing and was immediately labeled a masterpiece. One review commented, “To follow the movement one by one would be quite impossible; but we will say, nevertheless, that all applauded with rapture. The ‘Dies Irae’, with all the episodes which it comprises, was received with extraordinary favor. But at the ‘Offertorium’, the enthusiasm knew no bounds, and the public insisted on the repetition of this admirable quartet with chorus … At the ‘Agnus Dei’, the applause grew louder, and suppressed shouts broke out during the performance, so powerful was the inspiration which it revealed … After the ‘Offertorium’ had been repeated, a silver crown was presented to Verdi on a velvet cushion, whilst the public applauded with rapture.”

Symphony Tacoma Music Director, Sarah Ioannides comments, “Something like Verdi’s Requiem can have a lasting effect on you. The conveyance of the emotions that surface when you hear something like this; when you have so many forces on stage, and such a direct communication with the composer himself. With Verdi’s passion, feelings of grief, loss, and sadness but also at the same time with hope, and lightness, and joy. That moment of loss is also the moment of rebirth. So, let’s come together and celebrate life and humanity!”

Very much a reflection of what of the success the bands under their command achieved on various artistic stage throughout the year, it was also a battle between two heavyweight contenders for the accolade of ‘4BR Conductor of the Year’.

The final podium spot goes to Sarah Ioannides who made such a remarkable impression with the National Youth Band of Great Britain this year, and who just pipped Prof Nicholas Childs of Black Dyke.

Symphony Tacoma, led by conductor Sarah Ioannides, gave a dazzling performance of their Classics II concert, titled American Fusion.

…the concert which consisted of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture, the recently composed  Violin Concerto by Wynton Marsalis, and culminated in Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3. For the Violin  Concerto Symphony Tacoma was joined by Kelly Hall-Tompkins as the solo violinist. The night was filled  with varied themes infused with the feeling of Americana; the thrill and action of Bernstein, the  harmony of roots and discovery in Marsalis, and the open and hopeful spaces of Copland. 

The evening began with the heroic humor of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture, which for all its fun  is a deceptively difficult work that can easily descend into sluggish murk due to its demand for alacrity  and precision. Symphony Tacoma propelled the energy forward, displaying grand vistas and subtle  tableaus, dexterous winds and powerhouse brass and sweeping strings, unrelenting in momentum.  Voltaire’s adventure is recalled in unstoppable movement as the overture came to its explosive  conclusion, creating all the space needed for the arrival of Marsalis’ Violin Concerto. 

The featured soloist for the evening was the violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, whose take on the Concerto was full of character, humor, brazenness and sentimentality. She was an incredible communicator,  expressing musical lines with an honesty and clarity that couldn’t help but be responded to in both the  audience and the orchestra, an essential component in a work like the Violin Concerto with its musical  conversation between sections, lines and colors. Kelly and Symphony Tacoma navigated this complex  interplay while making it look natural and feel spontaneous, an impressive and difficult feat! The result  was a performance of genuine personality that invites all to the conversation and to experience the joys of that conversation together.