Concert Review: Looking to What Comes Next with Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Symphony Tacoma

Concert Review: Looking to What Comes Next with Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Symphony Tacoma

Concert Review:​ Looking to What Comes Next with Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Symphony Tacoma

Sarah Ioannides | Symphony Tacoma Music Director | Female Conductor and Composer

 

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. 

Impressionistic gems: Sarah Ioannides and Philippe Quint with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Impressionistic gems: Sarah Ioannides and Philippe Quint with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Impressionistic gems: Sarah Ioannides and Philippe Quint with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Zuill Bailey

The Vancouver Symphony concert this weekend at Skyview Concert Hall will feature impressionistic, programmatic music by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, John Corigliano, Ralph Vaughn Williams, and Ottorino Respighi. Under guest conductor Sarah Ioannides, the orchestra will suggest sounds that might remind you of scenes from nature, cities, exotic cultures, and even ancient Rome.

The concert marks a return engagement for Ioannides, who is in her tenth year as the Music Director of Symphony Tacoma. Ioannides made a terrific impression in her last appearance with the orchestra in January of 2021, even though she had to conduct with a mask because of the pandemic. This time around, she will be freed up to convey a fuller range of emotion.

“I love the impressionist and post-impressionist period of music,” said Ioannides via phone. “This concert will feature rich and lush pieces that resonate well with audiences. Corigliano is one of the great American composers, and his Red Violin Chaconne is based on seven different chords. People can follow the seven-chord line through the piece.”

One of the finest programmatic works ever written is Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a tone poem with four movements portraying settings in the city with pine trees.

“You will hear children playing under the pine trees in the Villa Borghese gardens in the first movement,” said Ioannides. “The second presents shadows of the pines by the catacombs. It is hymnlike and mysterious. The third offers a nighttime scene of the pines of the Janiculum hill, and it has a recording of bird sounds. In the fourth movement the dawn comes back, and we are at the Appian Way with a distance army marching toward us as the sun comes up – leaving all the death and the misery behind – glory has come to the new capital.”
 
Since the concert is loaded with impressionistic gems, the music will encourage audience members to close their eyes and use their imaginations. That might cause some people to reach into their purses for bug spray when they hear The Wasps, but who can blame them.
Concert Review: Rhapsody! – Stunning Opening to Symphony Tacoma Season

Concert Review: Rhapsody! – Stunning Opening to Symphony Tacoma Season

Concert Review:​ Rhapsody! – Stunning Opening to Symphony Tacoma Season

Sarah Ioannides | Symphony Tacoma Music Director | Female Conductor and Composer

 

On the evening of October 14, 2023, the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, Washington was the stage for an unforgettable orchestra concert, thanks to Symphony Tacoma and conductor, Sarah Ioannides. “Rhapsody!” was the first concert for Symphony Tacoma’s 2023-24 season, and included Mackenzie Melemed as the piano soloist.  With a variety of music on the program, this concert was an impressive demonstration of the orchestra’s remarkable skill and versatility.

The opening work by Lili Boulanger, D’un Matin du Printemps (Of a Spring Morning), was a colorful and vivid orchestral tone poem…Under Ioannides the orchestra played with precision and grace.

Symphony Tacoma, under the direction of Music Director Sarah Ioannides, also deserves high praise for their role in the Rachmaninoff. The orchestra provided a lush and dynamic backdrop for Melemed’s performance.  The interplay of roles between the orchestra and piano solo were clear and convincing.  Melemed was the focus of attention, and the orchestra never overstepped it’s role.

The concert’s second half was an interesting contrast of waltzes, Ravel’s La Valse, and Strauss; Suite from Der RosenkavalierLa Valse is a unique orchestral work, with a unique emotional impact.  Symphony Tacoma was impressive with their navigating the tricky turns of phrases, and demanding technical playing required in La Valse.  The whirlwind ending was full of crazy energy.  This performance was a wonderful spectacle for Tacoma to enjoy.

….Rosenkavalier was especially breathtaking. The intensity and pacing of this passage highlighted the artistry Symphony Tacoma has developed under Sarah Ioannides leadership.   

It was a big evening, filled with big music. Mackenzie Melemed was wonderful. Sarah Ioannides and Symphony Tacoma played with remarkable skill and versatility. The audience left moved and inspired. It was an exceptional and unforgettable night of music for our community.

Concert Preview: Symphony Tacoma Announces Season Opening Concert, ‘Rhapsody!’

Concert Preview: Symphony Tacoma Announces Season Opening Concert, ‘Rhapsody!’

Concert Preview: Symphony Tacoma Announces Season Opening Concert, ‘Rhapsody!’

Zuill Bailey

Symphony Tacoma is delighted to announce the opening concert of its much-anticipated 2023-2024 season, a musical soirée that promises to captivate the audience and set the stage for a season of exceptional performances. The grand event will take place on October 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at Tacoma’s historic Pantages Theater.

The evening’s repertoire celebrates the rich tapestry of classical music, from the ethereal and evocative works of Boulanger and Ravel to the passionate and dramatic pieces by Rachmaninoff and Strauss. Audience members can anticipate an experience that will transport them through time and emotion, leaving them inspired and profoundly moved.

Known for her dynamic and emotive conducting style, Music Director Sarah Ioannides will lead Symphony Tacoma through this captivating journey of musical diversity. “We are eagerly anticipating our opening concert and the virtuosic Mackenzie Melemed, whose dexterity and brilliance will be humbling,” says Ioannides, who is entering her tenth season as music director. “Join us as we weave this beautiful program in a symphonic celebration of love, transformation and timeless melodies.”

Recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mackenzie Melemed is consistently lauded for his interpretative prowess as a consummate solo artist, a remarkably sensitive chamber musician, and first-class soloist with orchestra. He will take center stage to perform Rachmaninoff’s celebrated “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” delivering a performance that blends technical virtuosity with deep emotional resonance. 

News: Solo Champions shine on NYBBGB course

News: Solo Champions shine on NYBBGB course

News:​ Solo Champions shine on NYBBGB course

Sarah Ioannides | Symphony Tacoma Music Director | Female Conductor and Composer

The players on the National Youth Band of Great Britain continue to work hard under the baton of guest conductor Sarah Ioannides as they focus on their upcoming concert in Saffron Walden on the weekend.

There was however a focus on solo excellence earlier this week with eight outstanding performers taking part in the annual Harry Mortimer Solo Competition.

Judged by Sarah Ioannides alongside NYBBGB Artistic Director Dr Robert Childs and Lt Col David Barringer MBE, Commanding Officer of the Household Division Bands, the finalists were accompanied Jonathan Musgrave.

Concert Review: Repeat curtain calls for National Youth Brass Band

Concert Review: Repeat curtain calls for National Youth Brass Band

Concert Review:​ Repeat curtain calls for National Youth Brass Band

Sarah Ioannides | Symphony Tacoma Music Director | Female Conductor and Composer

Conductor Sarah Ioannides had to repeatedly return to the rostrum at Saffron Hall on Saturday evening to accept the applause of the audience at the conclusion of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain’s end of course concert.

Speaking to many listeners after the event, the curtain-call acclaim was fully justified as the Music Director of the Symphony Tacoma in Washington State drew out playing of rich maturity from the 80 young musicians under her command.

The plaudits came after the conducting catalyst inspired memorable performances from a demanding programme that included two world premieres as well as the ‘Windows of the World’ and ‘Pines of Rome’ suites.

The performance videos are now available on Youtube.