This afternoon, at 3:00 p.m. Alaska time, KTOO-FM radio in Juneau will webcast today's matinee performance by the Juneau Symphony Orchestra of the Alaska premiere of a long-neglected work. Its first performances were shortly after it was written, back in 1945. And at that time, it was broadcast over the Armed Forces Broadcasting Network, and was introduced by then-Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening. Sawyer conducted the work again, in 1975, performed by two hallmark orchestras when it comes to attention to new works by American composers - the American Symphony Orchestra, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.
The Juneau Empire's Eric Morrison wrote an excellent story about this performance:
"The vivid, flowing colors of the aurora borealis came to mind when violinist Bob King first saw the score of New York composer Wilson Sawyer's "Alaskan Symphony" last year.
"I sat looking at the score and these passages in the final movement written on the page reminded me of the northern lights," King said of the music that had laid dormant for decades in the state library's historical collection. "I think that's the effect he was trying to achieve, and I think he does."
"Sawyer's musical tribute to the Last Frontier had only been performed publicly twice since it was written in 1945 - and never in Alaska - before former Juneau Symphony executive director Liz Agnew brought it to the board's attention. Sawyer's symphony will make its long-waited Alaska debut at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 14, in the Juneau-Douglas High School auditorium as the official kickoff of the capital's celebration of the state's 50th anniversary. There will also be a 3 p.m. matinee Sunday in the auditorium."
They'll also feature a recent graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School, tuba player Stephen Young - on his way to study music at The University of Puget Sound - in Ralph Vaughn Williams' Tuba Concerto, and the concert opens and closes with two of my ragtime compositions, Pioneer Days Rag from 1984-85, and Gordon's Last Ride Rag, from 2007.
image courtesy of Marilyn Holmes, Juneau Symphony Orchestra
3 comments:
Wonderful concert! The Juneau Symphony is growing up and deserves support for its challenging and audacious musical selections, its support of young musicians, and its sheer enthusiasm and joy. Bravo bravissimo!
The Alaska Symphony was delightful (albeit a bit predictable), and the ragtime compositions were fun. A correction, however: the concert opened with the National Anthem and closed with "Alaska's Flag." The ragtime pieces were both played during the first half of the concert.
...and one other thing. It is a bit vexing that the Yukon gold rush is so often the focus of "Alaskan" works. For instance, Robert Service (whose "Spell of the Yukon" was beautifully incorporated into the "Alaska Symphony") was written by a British/Canadian poet who, to the best of my knowledge, never lived in Alaska and lived and dies his entire life as a British citizen.
Another example of Alaska's co-option of the Candadian Gold Rush experience is our recent license plate, which portrays a long line of Alaskans scaling the Chilkat Pass -- to leave Alaska!
...and one last thing...
Alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood occurs in 2009, not 2008. So it seems we are jumping the gun a bit. July 1958 was when the Senate passed the Statehood Act, but Alaska didn't actually join the Union until January 3, 1959, when President Eisenhower signed the Statehood Proclamation. If 2008 is dedicated to the 50th Anniversary celebrations, what will be do in 2009???
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