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SSO to perform work it helped commission

The Springfield Symphony Orchestra will perform “Americana Symphony” by Grammy-winning fiddler Mark O’Connor.

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By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer Updated 1:26 PM Thursday, February 4, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — It used to be so much easier when Bach just worked at the church.

Nowadays, commissioning a new classical work is sort of like making a bag of Doritos.

Mark O’Connor’s “Americana Symphony” was commissioned a few years ago by the Cabrillio Music Festival, the Colorado Symphony, the Dubuque Symphony, the Fargo-Morehead Symphony, the Fox Valley Symphony, the Garrett Lakes Arts Festival, the Greater Anderson Music Arts Consortium, the Imperial Symphony, the Reading Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, the Rockford Symphony, the Santa Fe Symphony, the Springfield Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley and the Youngstown Youth Symphony.

Did you catch our own Springfield Symphony Orchestra in there?

It’s the whey protein concentrate in that list of ingredients — without it, you don’t have “Americana Symphony.”

Or Nacho Cheese Doritos.

“It’s very rare that an orchestra can afford to commission a piece by itself,” said maestro Peter Stafford Wilson, who will lead the SSO through the local premiere of its musical investment on Feb. 13 in Kuss Auditorium.

The all-American program also will feature the return of the SSO Chorale on Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” (the latter will be dedicated to John Ferritto, the former SSO music director who passed away last month).

For the SSO, helping in the O’Connor commission just made sense — especially considering that this season is a celebration of contemporary composers.

“His manager came to us and offered it,” Wilson said, “and our buy-in was quite reasonable.”

O’Connor’s folksy music also is compatible with local tastes.

His “Fiddle Concerto” was well-received locally in 2007 when it was performed as part of the “American Made” concerts.

“Our audience represents that grass-roots Americana that Mark is trying to embrace with his music,” Wilson said. “Our audience would have a special affinity for his music that a snooty New York audience might not have.”

Even still, O’Connor is the lone composer this season that couldn’t be booked to come to town for a personal visit.

“He could get a more lucrative date playing the fiddle somewhere,” Wilson said.

Hey, man, nobody kicks maltodextrin around.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.

How to go

What: Springfield Symphony Orchestra and SSO Chorale
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 13
Where: Kuss Auditorium
Tickets: $24 to $48 adults, $12 to $36 students, with a limited number of $15 adult tickets and $10 student tickets the week of the concert; visit springfieldsym.org or call (937) 328-3874.

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