Walking into the USC School of Music I was greeted by Jason Rapp, the SC Philharmonic’s communication director, and told where to go. The room was in the basement and had stadium seating with room in the middle for the conductor and a piano. Rhonda Hunsinger, the executive director, and Jason then joined us on one side of the seating as musicians Douglas Graham and Petrea Warneck sat facing us with their respective instruments.
Doug, principal clarinetist of
Petrea Warneck, oboist for the philharmonic, and Doug proceeded to talk about reeds which both the oboe and clarinet rely on to produce sound. I learned a lot about these little suckers, like how much they cost, how little they last, and the importance of having a few of these tuned up and ready to go -- a lot like my Friday night choices for a date (j/k). Petrea sounded off first on her oboe with an especially difficult piece because of the notes being used and her control of air was spectacular. Doug also played a piece with the same kind of care and results.
With the philharmonic quickly narrowing down their candidates for the music directing gig, our guest conductor will literally be auditioning for us come
As if this wasn’t enough reason to anticipate the performance at the Koger, we are joined by the rising talent of 19 year old Rachel Lee on the violin. Her sound has been raved about by the Chicago Tribune and San Diego Daily Transcript. This Saturday night has all the makings of a ball! - Alan
“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
