Kokomo Orchestra to kick off 50th season with crowd favorites, debut of commissioned piece

Oct. 20—Before Alicia Berneche sang in opera houses across the nation and helped modern composers debut their work in places like New York and London, she played violin in the Kokomo Symphony's youth orchestra for 12 years. She credits the experience as the spark that led her to love music.

She's returning to Kokomo this weekend to perform with the Kokomo Symphony Orchestra and help the organization celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The season kicks off Saturday with a mixture of crowd favorites, the debut of a commissioned piece and highlighted featured soloists.

'The Affirmation'

The concert will kick off with the debut of a commissioned piece titled "The Affirmation."

The composer, Michael Schelle, has been writing music for decades. He wrote the commissioned piece over the course of a few months.

Growing up, his mother took him to see a handful of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. He thought it was cool, but said he didn't realize how cool it was until he got older.

Later, in his junior year of college, he took a date to see the Philadelphia Orchestra. The show featured Claude Debussy's "La Mer" and Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." It was a formative moment — he loved the music so much he decided to become a composer.

He finished his theater and philosophy degree, then immediately went back to school to earn some music composition degrees.

"The Affirmation" was composed with the orchestra's 50th anniversary in mind. Schelle explained the piece's title comes from the idea of trials, tribulations, struggles and successes.

"I looked at the KSO that way. They've had their ups and downs, but they're definitely moving forward and in a very positive way. And that's how I wanted my piece to sound," the composer said. "Ups and downs and some dangerous moments, but at the end of the day, it's all going to be okay."

The closing section of "The Affirmation" is triumphant and optimistic. Schelle said it's by far the most optimistic piece he's ever written.

Schelle said it can be difficult to pin down a stylistic category for his compositions. They usually have a dark, theatrical feel, though.

"It's very eclectic. It's very cinematic. It's very dramatic," Schelle said. He later added, "I like complexity and depth and all that kind of stuff. But I also like something to grab onto on the surface."

The Butler State University professor said he doesn't work with traditional composition forms, either.

"My music has the form that it happens to take," Schelle said.

José Valencia, who has served as the orchestra's artistic director and conductor for the past 14 years, is excited to debut the piece.

"We don't do enough new music," Valencia said. He acknowledged it can be difficult to work in fresh compositions when there's so much support for older, perhaps better known, compositions.

"There is new music being written that is not for film. It is for the concert hall — not that that means it's less or more than any other type — but it's a special type," Valencia said. "And it's important that we keep on having opportunities for people to write music that might reflect the audience's experiences and feelings that are going on today."

Trudy Whitford, the orchestra's principal flutist, will be featured immediately following the debut of "The Affirmation."

Whitford will perform the first movement of Luigi Boccherini's flute concerto, which Valencia described as "a really lovely piece" that would serve as a light interlude.

'American in Paris'

Composed by George Gershwin, "An American in Paris" was written for a large orchestra. Its score calls for instruments that aren't usually featured in classical music, such as saxophones and taxi horns.

"It's a huge, complex piece and I love envisioning how we're going to travel through it," Valencia said.

The artistic director said he's also fond of the composition because it was one of the first few symphonies composed with a jazz influence.

As the name suggests, "An American in Paris" is about an American visiting Paris, France.

There are two key parts in the composition. The first represents the American strolling through Parisian streets while taking in the sights and sounds.

"It's not that it sounds French, but it sounds like you're in Paris," Valencia explained.

The second part has more of an American blues influence, which is meant to represent the American's homesickness.

It doesn't end on a sad note, though. The American snaps out of their blues and the composition returns to the Parisian themes Gershwin introduced in the beginning.

A bit of opera

Berneche — who is an operatic soprano singer — will perform Mozart arias from "Così fan tutte" and "Le nozze di Figaro."

Reflecting on her career, Berneche said she's enjoyed taking on lead roles from both operas. When it came time to discuss which pieces she could perform with the orchestra, Valencia happily agreed she should sing the Mozart arias.

Valencia described the works as "amazingly joyful" and hopes to feature more arias in the future. Berneche said they're more light and funny than the usual long winded songs people imagine when they think of opera.

With a chuckle, Berneche said she hasn't always thought highly of singers.

"I was a typical musician," Berneche said. "I thought singers were arrogant."

Approaching high school, Berneche became more interested in theater. She was studying Shakespeare when a friend suggested she take voice lessons from her father. Her new teacher added singing lessons to the curriculum — something to make her stand out in auditions.

"It was just magical. It was everything I wanted from classical music. I was a better singer than I was a violinist. It was clear that that was my instrument," Berneche said.

She wonders where she would be now without taking those singing lessons.

Berneche also said she's glad she went into opera with an acting background. It gave her an edge against other performers who were only expected to sing well.

The soprano singer said she was honored by the invitation to perform at the orchestra's 50th anniversary concert.

"Especially an organization that gave me so much and really just set me on my path, for them to ask me that, it's just such an honor," Berneche said. "Any way that I can give back to this organization that gave me my life, I am so happy and blessed to be able to do it."

'Pines of Rome'

Valencia explained Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome" was composed with the intention of painting a picture. In musical terms, it would be called a tone poem.

While other compositions set out to elicit an emotional response, the artistic director said, they aren't necessarily trying to tell a story.

"Pines of Rome" isn't necessarily telling a full story, Valencia said. The composition acts more like a set of four vignettes that takes audience members on a tour of pine trees planted around Roman landmarks.

"There are different moods that are conveyed. But with the music, he's definitely trying to paint a picture," Valencia said of Respighi's composition.

For example, Valencia said he pictures hordes of Roman soldiers on the pine-lined stone roads of Appian Way when the composition's triumphant finale comes around. They're miles away and marching toward the city.

In juxtaposition, the second movement — which is meant to portray pines near Roman catacombs — is somber and mysterious. It's a bit spooky, Valencia added, if you're not entirely comfortable with being around catacombs.

"I'm looking forward to that thrilling end moment," Valencia said. "I'm looking forward to all of the different moods along the way."

Younger audiences and Disney fans might picture flying blue whales while listening to the piece. That's how the composition was reimagined for Disney's "Fantasia 2000."

"I'm not going to say that those four movements tell a cohesive story," Valencia said. "I feel like it's four different pictures."

The season continues

"I hope for this to introduce the orchestra to more people, I feel like we're getting more word out right now, which is very important," Valencia said.

The artistic director said he hopes the increased awareness translates to more seats filled at concerts.

There isn't an overarching theme for this season. Each show, according to Valencia, is distinct. He said collaboration with other organizations might link the season's concerts, though.

"We're really, hopefully, connecting with the community and providing something that they want to listen to, or that can give them some comfort or connection to each other in the community," Valencia said.

For example, a local choir will help the orchestra perform George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" in March.

Then, in May, the orchestra will finish its 50th season with a collaboration with the Kokomo Civic Theatre.

The orchestra used to frequently work with a choir, and Valencia said he would like to see that collaboration return.

He doesn't know whether many people are even interested in joining a choir, but likes the idea of bringing a Giuseppe Verdi or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart requiem to Kokomo.

"Some of these things are really great pieces," Valencia said. "And there are also contemporary pieces that would be worthwhile looking into."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.