Steven Karidoyanes will conduct the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra in the fourth annual “Rising Stars Showcase!” at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 7, in Memorial Hall.
This family concert, bursting with youthful talent and energy, will feature the orchestra plus the 120-voice Plymouth Children’s Chorus, directed by Kathy McMinn, singing music from Copland’s Old American Songs, the rousing spiritual “This Little Light of Mine” and Chilcott’s “Can You Hear Me?” sung and signed by the chorus in American Sign Language.
This year’s South Shore Conservatory concerto competition winner, 26-year-old Alexandra Nelson, will perform music from Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in A Minor.
Plus, the program will also include the world orchestral premiere of John Philip Sousa’s “Boy Scouts of America March” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, and feature members of Troop 47.
The concert is also part of the national food drive, Orchestras Feeding America.
The Phil’s ever-popular hands-on instrument demonstrations will precede the concert from 2 to 2:40 p.m.
“It’s amazing to contemplate that no other orchestra has ever performed this music,” Conductor Karidoyanes said of the Sousa premiere. “It’s thrilling to realize our performance represents its orchestral premiere.”
When Karidoyanes sought to perform this march, however, he didn’t realize the challenge ahead. Sousa composed the march in 1916 for piano, and then for band, but never for orchestra. When Karidoyanes couldn’t find a published version for orchestra, he sought guidance from various sources, most notably the chief librarian of the United States Marine Corp Band (a band Sousa, himself, conducted). He also contacted the official Sousa Archives in Champaign, Ill., and noted Sousa scholar Keith Brion. All concurred; no orchestration of the Sousa Boy Scouts March existed and they encouraged Karidoyanes to take on the project of orchestrating it himself. And he did.
“It’s a novel Sousa march,” Karidoyanes said. “At one point Sousa has the whole band whistling in unison with the piccolos. I, of course, kept that feature in the orchestration.”
Members from Boy Scout Troop 47, sponsored by The Church of the Pilgrimage, will assist the Phil in this commemorative performance. The troop will provide a Color Guard during the Sousa performance and Plymouth North High School freshman Sean Brady, of Troop 47, will share conducting duties with Karidoyanes.
This is the fourth year for the Plymouth Children’s Chorus, the product of a special partnership between Plymouth Public Schools music educators and the Plymouth Philharmonic. Made up of select fourth- and fifth-graders, this training chorus rehearses over a highly focused eight-week period in preparation for the Phil’s annual family concert. This tuition-free ensemble is designed to give students of every socio-economic background the opportunity to perform at a high musical level with a professional symphony orchestra. Federal Furnace Elementary School music specialist Kathy McMinn directs the chorus, which is accompanied by Sharon Francer, music specialist at Plymouth Community Intermediate School.
