MMF passes baton to Louisville Orchestra for return of 'Classical Night'

Jul. 14—Bravo, Louisville Orchestra.

That was the sentiment of the substantial crowd in attendance for the Louisville Orchestra's performance Thursday night at The Center for Rural Development, as part of the orchestra's In Harmony Commonwealth Tour, an effort to bring the fine arts to communities throughout the state, made possible by a $4.3 million appropriation from the Kentucky General Assembly.

Presented by Lake Cumberland Resort III and Lake Cumberland Property Investment, the orchestra's appearance, under the direction of Teddy Abrams, marked the return of Master Musicians Festival's "Classical Night," a former tradition for the community's outdoor music festival.

This is the 30th year for MMF, known by most today as a two-day event, but until the mid-2000s, there was a third night to the festival which featured primarily music considered in a classical vein.

But "Classical Night" has retained a following of supporters among the MMF faithful who want opportunities for this community to be exposed to the work of some of the finest musicians in the state playing works by the masters, opportunities that are often only available in larger cities. And with the festival in a milestone year in 2023, it made sense for organizers to bring it back — and to bring back the Louisville Orchestra, which was previously here for MMF in 2000.

Tickets were free and were made available on-line at the beginning of February; they were all claimed within four hours. Most of those turned out Thursday night at The Center, leading to a strong crowd for the orchestra's appearance.

"Of course, it was amazing. The talent on that stage was absolutely phenomenal — I had cold chills most of the night," said Julie Harris, MMF Board President.

"I just am so proud of our community and the way that they show up for events like these," she added. "We've been hearing from folks for a long time that they really would like to have Classical Night back, and we have this really unique opportunity to do this with the Louisville orchestra, and (the local crowd) showed out in huge numbers. I had several folks from the orchestra talk about what an amazing crowd it was, so I'm super grateful for all the people who came out to enjoy it, and I'm grateful to the orchestra for bringing their talent to our community."

For his part, Abrams was impressed by Somerset as much as Somerset was impressed by his orchestra, talking about the concert afterward with the Commonwealth Journal.

"(The Center for Rural Development) is a beautiful space in Somerset, which is a beautiful town. The audience was tremendous. Such an enthusiastic response to all the styles of music that we played (Thursday)," he said. "We wanted to deliver music from many centuries and many different places, and I'm just so honored to have a chance to make music in Somerset."

Abrams also spoke to the CJ about what goes into putting together a concert like the one Somerset heard Thursday night, with a number of local notables and officials, music educators and performers, and arts patrons in the audience.

"We spend a lot of time thinking about the balance of the repertoire, because we want to make sure there's some famous repertoire from the past, but also a lot of new, because that's something that we value so much at the Louisville Orchestra," he said. "People should hear everything, and we trust our audiences that they're going to listen with open ears, and they always do. Kentucky audiences are very, very knowledgable because they know what good music is."

In addition to Thursday's concert, members of the orchestra also held a clinic for local music students at the Virginia Theater earlier Thursday, to help young people learn about being a professional musician as a career.

Prior to the orchestra's concert on Thursday, Dr. Joseph Hopkins, President of Campbellsville University, and his wife Suzanne preformed, with musicians from the MasterWorks Orchestra summer residency currently ongoing at CU, made up of faculty and students from all over the country.

The orchestra played a selection of crowd-pleasing favorites recognizable to most audiences, as well as original compositions from Kentucky composers and music relevant to the Bluegrass State.

The concert began with Leonard Bernstein's Overture to "Candide," the beloved operetta based on Voltaire's seminal book, followed by Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell" Overture, which Abrams noted as a piece most everyone would have some familiar connection with, from a variety of sources. TJ Cole's innovative "Megalopolis," which evoked the sounds of the urban environment, and Tyler Taylor's "In Memory's Safe," the latter of which was a world premiere featuring soprano Lisa Bielawa, offered the audience more contemporary pieces to consider and enjoy.

For "In Memory's Safe," Abrams gave mention to his friend Dan Dutton of Pulaski County, a noted Kentucky composer in his own right, for assisting in the process that led to Thursday's performance.

"(Taylor) came to my studio and we talked about music some and I sang a ballad for him that I learned from Chapel Wallin, who lived here in Tateville actually. I recorded some of his traditional music for Berea College ..." said Dutton following the concert. "Taylor just took that and ran with it. It's a beautiful piece.

"It's fantastic to have the orchestra here," he added. "Teddy Abrams is a personal friend of mine, and I just think he's the greatest conductor in America. I love what he does with the music. He takes the stuffiness out of it and makes it (so) everyone can enjoy it."

Another local artist Taylor visited was Daniel Stroud, a longtime MMF volunteer who wasn't able to be at the concert due to the birth of his child — but was pleased to learn that some of his original song "Grapefruit Man" was incorporated into the piece.

Stroud said that Finley brought Taylor to visit him for an interview earlier this year, to ask about Stroud's own music as well as the musical culture in the region as a whole.

"We had a great discussion and I ended up playing 'Grapefruit Man' for him, but I had no idea that he was going to use part of the song for his composition, so that was really a complete surprise," said Stroud. "... It was really cool.

"I'm decked out head to toe in all of my Master Musicians festival clothes because I'm missing it this weekend, we're here at the hospital with the baby," he added, "... so it really lifted our spirits for sure, and it helped me feel like even though I can't be at the festival this year, I feel like I am at the festival this year, at least through that song."

An arrangement by Abrams of Bluegrass music pioneer Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky, featuring the orchestra's J. Bryan Heath singing and strumming the favorite tune on guitar, along with Abrams on piano and Gabriel Lefkowitz and James McFadden-Talbot on violin, came next, followed by George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," one of the most notable pieces of American music ever composed, with Abrams doing virtuoso work — including a fair bit of jazzy improvisation — on the keyboard, this performance earning its own standing ovation.

The evening closed out with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," and an encore of "The Stars and Stripes Forever," the rousing John Phillips Sousa march.

With the success of Thursday's concert, MMF organizers are optimistic that the "Classical Night" revival won't be something that reaches a quick crescendo in 2023 before fading away, but will be something the community can enjoy for years to come as MMF holds the note that Somerset will support this kind of fare.

"I'm sure we'll have that conversation," said Harris. "I think that would be wonderful. It was an integral part of the festival at one point, and I think it brings another level of diversity to our selection in music, and it seems like our community really wants it, so I think that's something the board will discuss after this weekend."