Tuesday, Dec, 22, 2009 • Symphony Society breaks with tradition this Christmas

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Anyone expecting traditional Christmas songs and a more formal performance at the Susanville Symphony’s annual holiday concert, may have been a bit perplexed when, during a performance of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” the orchestra switched gears and started playing music from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Conductor Ben Wade rearranged “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and even though Susanville Symphony Board member and emcee Mike Smith facetiously called the piece the “most serious song,” it could be said many were not prepared for how goofy the song would become.

Wade said he originally composed the music for each instrument to correspond with one of the gifts in the song.

“For example, I knew that the bassoon should represent the ‘geese a laying’ and that the brass should be the five golden rings. However, once I started to write the piece it took on a mind of its own. It became more of a comedic form of composition than a serious work, and it was a blast to write and perform.”

The song sounded familiar and the audience seemed to enjoy the added touches, such as the kazoo heard at ‘six geese a laying.’

As the orchestra reached the “twelve drummers drumming,” the music sped up and spiraled out of control resulting in a cacophony of noise and an assault on the audiences’ ears.

Wade described it as “A broken record player, an orchestra whose wheels have fallen off with no control.”

Meanwhile, Wade came off the stage, shaking the audience members hands. Carol Fontana, concert master and a violin player, seemed fed up with the mess and put an end to the noise.

When the orchestra resumed, the music heard was from the Space Odyssey.

Wade said, “To bridge that gap where I walked off the podium, I knew had to be monumental. While I was thinking about how to do it, I thought why not act like we are starting a new piece. So, I thought of all the fanfares I know, and it hit me, all of a sudden, to do the “2001: Space Odyssey” as it is easy to morph into the fanfare of the ‘five golden rings.’”

The Susanville Assembly of God choir sang at the end of the song because Wade said he really wanted the audience to hear each instrument represented gift.

“I thought with the choir singing it and then the orchestra playing it would give better clarification as to what I thought at the time,” he said.

Even with the chaos of “Twelve Days of Christmas,” the concert did offer more serious and traditional songs.

The concert began the overture to “Miracle on 34th Street,” and transitioned into the slower “In the Bleak Midwinter,” featuring a solo performance by Eric Toews on the clarinet.

In addition to the fluid blend of instruments, the concert gave the audience a chance to hear from the vocally talented in the community.

Liudmila Mullin, lent her clear powerful, mezzo-soprano voice during a solo performance of “Ave Maria.”

Music also included three songs from the movie “Home Alone” with Mullin, Carlin Hagen and Kris Szovati singing “Somewhere in my Memory.” Hagen sang a solo performance of “Star of Bethlehem,” and the trio ended the Home Alone suite with “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.”

Wade also composed an arrangement to “What Child is This?” for Jennifer and J.D. Estacio, worship leaders at SAG and who first performed for the symphony in last year’s Power of Voice concert.

Jennifer Estacio’s soprano voice has wowed audience members and Wade said people suggested he rearrange a song for her and J.D.

Wade said he thought “What Child is This,” would be appropriate since, at concert-time, Jennifer was soon due to give birth to her first child.

SAG’s choir members also sang in the encore performance of “The Little Drummer Boy.”

This year marks the seventh season of the Susanville Symphony.