The Bangor Symphony Orchestra gave an emotional and intimate concert Sunday afternoon that brought concertgoers to their feet in a roar of appreciation.
More than 70 musicians closed the program by conquering Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, also known as the “Titan,” with joy and grace. The players opened the concert by playing Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin” with unexpected energy.
Guest soloist George Vosburgh charmed concertgoers in his performance of Johann Hummel’s Concerto for Trumpet in E Major. Vosburgh, principal trumpet player with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, played the complex piece with relaxed precision. He, like other talented and experienced soloists who have performed with the BSO, raised the musical bar and the musicians, a mix of professionals and community members, soared over it.
But it was the gentle, loving tribute to the mother of six children that embraced the hearts of those in the audience and flooded them with memories of their own families. Since Lucas Richman became conductor and music director in 2010, he has composed nearly every year an original piece as a fundraiser for the organization.
“Until the Circle Is Unbroken” was commissioned by former board president Joyce Clark Sarnacki to honor her parents Pete and Diane Clark, and her five siblings. The concept for creating the work followed the evolution of a simple five-note theme, according to the program notes.
The name Diane was translated to the musical pitches D-B-A-G-E. The theme represented the matriarch, with the subsequent six variations capturing certain qualities of each of the six children, resulting in a final celebratory coda, the program note said.
While the piece was intended to be specific to the Clark family, it evoked memories of my childhood with my parents, sisters and brother. With each measure, mental snapshots of weekend picnics, camping trips, Christmas mornings and Easter egg hunts swirled through my mind and my eyes filled with tears.
In that piece, Richman wrote a joyous tribute to family that will resonate long after the sting of the Patriots’ loss to the Broncos on Sunday has faded.
The BSO concert will next perform “The Pops: An Evening of Romance with Noel Paul Stookey” at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13, at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono. For information, call 942-5555.