"There is a danger in being consistently extraordinary.  Since human memory is mercurial at best, what is consistently extraordinary soon becomes merely ordinary.  As a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, I often experience this strange double vision.  I see my peers as a picture of normality.  But the students at Curtis are anything but normal.  Extrapolate to our graduates, teachers, friends and colleagues down the street, and the Philadelphia Orchestra can only be called normal by stretching the term to its limit.

The orchestra has been in existence for over one hundred years.  In that time, they have become standard bearers for excellence in the musical and cultural consciousness of Philadelphia, the United States, and the world.  It is inevitable that as Philadelphia becomes comfortable with their orchestra, the sense of privilege at possessing such a group has been superseded by other concerns: budgeting, programming, hiring.  Yet if the Philadelphia Orchestra chose to ignore all sense and only play Happy Birthday for the next hundred years, they would still be an extraordinary group.

It is necessary for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the community at large to discuss realistic concerns unrelated to music.  Lights must be turned on, bills paid and salaries funded.  It is not the lot, nor even the responsibility of an orchestra to be concerned only with lofty musical concepts.  Yet we, as the stewards of the Philadelphia Orchestra for the time being, can never take this organization for granted.  I am afraid that when the brilliance of the orchestra is forgotten, we as a community will lose our collective sense of wonder in music without even noticing that it is gone.  It is a sad truth that cities without architects cannot build, cities without students cannot learn, and cities without artists cannot dream."   -- Elizabeth Fayette, violinist, Curtis Class of 2011

As Elizabeth Fayette so elegantly wrote in her program note, we occasionally need to understand the risk of loosing a cultural icon before we really appreciate it's true value.  The concert last night was a magnificent way to demonstrate the talents of two often overlooked jewels of Philadelphia:  The Curtis Institute of Music, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Both institutions have been the bedrock of classical music in this region for so long that we take their massive contribution for granted.  

Demonstrating the desire to show their appreciation for the Philadelphia Orchestra, a newly formed ensemble of Curtis students, Ensemble39, generously created a program and performed the concert during finals week.  Now that's dedication!  The concert took place on May 9th, 2011 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.  The first half of the program was performed by Curtis students:

S. Prokofiev, Quintet, Op. 39:

Alexandra von der Embse, oboe

Zoe Martin-Doike, violin

Ayane Kozasa, viola

Kelly Coyle, clarinet

Rex Surany, bass

B. Britten, Phantasy, Op. 2

Alexandra von der Embse, oboe

Zoe Martin-Doike, violin

Jessica T. Chang, viola

Gabriel Cabezas, Cello

Both pieces were performed beautifully, and the acoustics at St. Mark's magnified the pure tones of the woodwinds as their sound bounced around the massive stone sanctuary.  

Fireworks and fun were in store for the well attended audience after intermission.  The students made a perfect selection of music to provide a duel between four members of the Philadelphia Orchestra vs. four Curtis students.  They physically sat like a mirror image: violin, violin, viola, cello, facing each other for the match.  Of course a dual with string instrument bows must be a friendly affair and the octet worked in such unison that you would have thought they had played together for years.

F. Mendelssohn, Octet in E-Flat major, Op.20

Noah Geller, violin*

Yayoi Numazawa, violin*

Zoe Martin-Doike, violin

Rebecca Anderson, violin

Marvin Moon, viola*

Jessica T. Chang, viola

Yumi Kendall, cello*

Gabriel Cabezas, cello

* denotes member of the Philadelphia Orchestra

Electricity and passion for the music filled the cavernous space, and the audience erupted in a standing ovation lasting several minutes once the flying bows came to rest.  Only the most talented, dedicated and passionate musicians could pull off such a feat; all the more astonishing considering the short amount of time to prepare compounded by a heavy burden of distractions.  There is no doubt that the entire community of classical music enthusiasts needs to rally behind our venerable institutions to assure that events like this continue to fill that "consistently extraordinary" level of achievement, thus enriching our region and our lives.