Kenneth Woods- A View From the Podium

On the one hand, it may seem like we had a little mini-onslaught of blog posts last week, after a fairly quiet summer. On the other, I continue to feel like there is a huge backlog of things I want to write about, but that I still am working to recapture a sense of freshness in my writing about them. In the meantime, I fear content here may oscillate between silence and mind-numbing and tired re-treading of the same old Vftp clichés

So with all that to look for, I wanted to just try to talk a tiny bit about my last day at the OES from a musical perspective- Mozart first.  Read more…

A view from the podium Best Damn Redneck Orchestra on Earth, i'm outta here, k 488, mozart

Robin Rilette, Music Director of Northwest Public Radio, has been a very busy person this summer. One by one, she’s tracked down almost every conductor of every orchestra in the region, and has been getting to know them and their bands. Her series, “A Season of Symphonies,” is now unfolding on NWPR, and is all available on their website.

Although I’m no longer “the conductor” of the OES, I guess I was the only guy she could get on the phone, and our chat is now available on the website. In addition to our discussion about an orchestra in transition, you can hear opinions on beer and brass playing and our performances of Mahler 2 and Wagner’s Meistersinger Overture. Click here to visit the “Season of Symphonies” home page, where you can find all the episodes in the series to date.

Again, I can’t overstate what a wonderful thing this is that Robin and NWPR have done for orchestras and music lovers in the region. I know that many, many, many hours of hard work went into this, and I hope fans of regional orchestras everywhere will take a few minutes to take in the astounding array of ensembles the region has to offer.

By the way, the soloists on the Mahler 2 performance are Amy Paden and Angela Niederloh.

The season thus far looks like this- 

September 8 Victoria Symphony Listen Now September 9 Spokane Symphony Listen Now September 10 Washington Idaho Symphony Listen Now September 11 Vancouver Symphony Listen Now September 14 Portland Chamber Orchestra Listen Now September 15 Oregon East Symphony Listen Now September 16 Philharmonia Northwest Listen Now September 17 Mid Columbia Symphony Listen Now September 18 Skagit Symphony Listen Now September 21 Port Angeles Symphony Listen Now September 22 Walla Walla Symphony Listen Now September 23 Bayshore Symphony Listen Now September 24 Whatcom Symphony Listen Now September 25 Wenatchee Valley Symphony Listen Now September 28 Seattle Philharmonic Listen Now September 29 Yakima Symphony Listen Now

Updated- Robin has a fine blog. There’s more from Robin on the OES and our season opening concert here.

Updated 10.10.09- The series is now finished and the complete broadcast listing is now above. The last 20 seconds of the OES Mahler 2 are missing (at last check). NWPR tells us they are working on the problem. Sorry for any frustration.

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