Bowling Green Philharmonia performed a concert on Sunday, Dec. 3, the theme of the concert being “Symphonic Fusion.” The orchestra is under the direction of Emily Freeman Brown, who has been conducting the ensemble for the last 27 years.
“We wanted to put together a symphony of four movements from four different symphonies,” assistant director Alexander Popovici said.
The orchestra performed five pieces by various composers. The concert opened with “Overture to The Marriage of Figaro.” “The Marriage of Figaro” is an opera written by Wolfgang Mozart and tells the story of how two servants fool their masters and get married. The light-hearted tone of the piece reflected the theme of love in the opera.
The next piece performed was from Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat. This is one of the first symphonies Schubert composed after he began to make money off his music, and the exciting, happy pace of the piece represented how Schubert’s passion for music was being reignited at this time. However, Schubert once said, “There’s no such thing as a happy song,” and the movement evokes that belief at certain points.
Next was Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major. This piece was more somber than the previous two, as it had a slightly ominous tone that slowly built its way up to an exciting finale. This symphony ended up being one of Beethoven’s most successful compositions.
Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor brought the tone of the concert back up with a movement that the composer himself described as “that waltz and polka affair.” The symphony took Brahms over a year to write, and his dedication to the music is made obvious through complex musical elements that make the piece intricate yet easy on the ears.
The show closed with Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 in D major. This movement was the perfect finale, as it was constantly rising and falling and very interesting to listen to. The piece went from a pompous tune with the entire orchestra down to a soft medley with only a few instruments, and then it came back up again within only a few bars.
“The one that really stands out is the Sibelius but we figured that was okay because it’s the grand finale,”assistant conductor Alexander Popovici said.
Bowling Green Philharmonia is the premiere orchestra at the University.
“We work very hard for each performance, weeks and weeks of rehearsal,” Freeman Brown said. The group practices three days a week for two hours each day. It typically has about a month to prepare for each of its concerts. In order to join Philharmonia, a prospective member must audition at the beginning of the year. The orchestra puts on multiple concerts each year, and its next performance is Jan. 17.
