Green Bay Review

Hey all...it appears I can now add to my press quotes if I ever want to have a "press package" - here's the review from my Morceau de Concert performance in Green Bay, the last performance and the one my mom was able to attend! I was so happy she flew out to see us for a weekend and hear the concert.

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Posted October 16, 2006

Milwaukee Symphony shines for Civic Music Association
By Warren Gerds wgerds@greenbaypressgazette.com

A festive encore piece sandwiched between two standing ovations capped the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert Saturday night at Ralph Holter Auditorium of Green Bay West High School.

Led by guest conductor Kelly Corcoran, the orchestra brought along a sure-fire popular program.

The combination of juicy music and fine playing propelled Brown County Civic Music Association to a lustrous start for its 80th anniversary season.

The list of favorites: The whirling "Slavonic Dance" No. 8 of Antonin Dvorak; the loving embrace of country of "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius; the scope of "Peer Gynt" from the visions of a sprite in "Morning Mood" to the flashing excitement of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg; and the rich, exotic, majestic tapestry of "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The only non-"hit" piece, "Morceau de Concert, for Horn and Orchestra" by Camille Saint-Saens, provided the fuel for a player from the orchestra to step forward to solo proudly. Darcy Hamlin firmly maneuvered through the piece's demand for speed, softness and zest amid a sometimes-regal aura.

On the podium, Corcoran looked assured with a smooth conducting style that flashed dynamism when need be.

This was an important night for Civic Music in these ways:

The Milwaukee Symphony was the first full orchestra the arts group, made up of volunteers, has brought in since 1990. Civic Music wanted to start its season with a big splash, and did.

The special anniversary was marked on stage by Amy Kocha, president, reading the names of all the group's presidents. Surviving presidents rose in the audience. (One, Don Poh, recalled being present in the 1960s at a national convention at which the Milwaukee Symphony was named the nation's 22nd major symphony when its budget passed $1 million and its first road trip was to Green Bay to play for Civic Music).

The printed program included a four-page history of the organization as a "grassroots phenomenon." Knots of dutiful volunteers engaged such famed performers as Isaac Stern, Ferrante & Teicher, Richard Tucker, Birgit Nilsson, Roberta Peters, Lili Kraus, Dale Warland Singers, Leon Bates, the Tokyo String Quartet and Lilya Zilberstein (returning March 13).

Many of the names appeared again on display boards placed in West's cafeteria, where a reception was held after the concert. Pictures, programs and newspaper clippings filled the boards. The May 27, 1927, Green Bay Press-Gazette is of note. The main headline of the day was of a momentous event: "Lindbergh Wings His Way to Paris." At the top of the page: "Today is your last chance to join Civic Music Ass'n."

Saturday, the Milwaukee Symphony added another glint of glory to what Civic Music has accomplished.