Friday, Oct. 02, 2009

Symphony kicks off season with Dvorak

Dori O'Neal, Herald staff writer

The Mid-Columbia Symphony will kick off its 2009-10 season performing a concert with a flair for the dramatics.

Cello dramatics, that is.

Dvorak's cello concerto in B minor is an exciting piece of music that is sort of like techno meets orchestra, said conductor Nick Wallin.

Showtime is 8 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

The concert's guest cellist, Ruth Boden, will add a bit of pizzazz to the evening's entertainment. Boden, a music teacher at Washington State University in Pullman, got hooked on the cello in the fourth grade.

"The high school orchestra (in Spokane) came to our school to play and promote string instruments, and I happened to be one of the kids chosen to come up and get a closer look at the cello," Boden said. "I even got to pluck one of the strings and I was pretty much hooked!"

Another attraction to the cello, Boden added, was her height.

"I was also drawn to the cello because it seemed a more appropriately sized instrument for me," she said. "I have been (5-foot-10) since I was about 9 years old."

That meant she was able to start playing on a full-sized instrument as a child when most cellists have to wait until their teens.

Boden also plays a few other instruments besides the cello.

"I play double bass, a little piano and can get around the violin and viola, though there is not a soul who would ever want to hear this," she joked.

Boden's love affair with the cello endures.

"I continued playing the cello because it's one of the most perfect instruments," she said. "It plays low, it plays high, it sings, it laughs, it cries. What other instrument has such a range?"

Can't argue with that, Wallin said.

For those music lovers under the impression that acoustics aren't what they should be at the convention center, Wallin and a few patrons of the arts say it isn't so.

"A few of my friends declared they didn't renew their Mid-Columbia Symphony season tickets because of poor acoustics at the Three Rivers Convention Center," said music patron Laurel Piippo of Richland.

Wallin believes an elimination of several seats in the dead areas of the convention hall will improve those acoustics for the audience.

"We've eliminated the seating on each side of the room against the walls so that all seats are directly in front of the orchestra," Wallin said. "We also removed several rows of seats in the back of the hall, which moves the audience closer to the stage for a more intimate setting."

That doesn't mean the convention center is as good as a real concert hall, he added. But with the orchestra elevated on a stage and a band shell behind the musicians, it helps.

"They've convinced me," Piippo said. "I'll be standing in line Saturday night trying to get two good seats close to the front. I should not have waited so long to buy my season tickets."

Season tickets are from $80 to $140 depending on seat location.

Here's a look at the rest of the season:

-- Jan. 24: Brahms Symphony No. 2, also featuring Michael Torke's Javelin and Barber's Adagio for Strings.

-- March 20: Pictures at an Exhibition, which features the music of Mussorgsky, Glinka, as well as the winners of the Young Artists Competition.

-- May 15: Verdi's Requiem with guests the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers.

The symphony also will have a Christmas Holiday Concert on Nov. 29 that is not part of the regular season.

*Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com