Maryland Symphony Orchestra

A Middletown, Md., native who said she is interested in finding new Maryland Symphony Orchestra fans from a variety of age groups, economic backgrounds and regions has been hired as the organization's new executive director, MSO officials said Monday. Tamara Nuzzaci Park, who was chosen from a pool of about 20 candidates, started work last Monday, according to symphony spokesman Greg Evans and April L. Dowler, who was serving as interim executive director of the orchestra. Park replaces Andrew Kipe, who resigned from the MSO in November to become general manager of The Phoenix Symphony.

Maryland Symphony Orchestra Music Director Elizabeth Schulze had the audience hum the eight bass notes of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, then jokingly asked the Sunday matinee crowd if it was available for the symphony's holiday concert. One of the most well-recognized classical compositions - Pachelbel's Canon was featured in a 1980's GE light bulb commercial and has been in numerous films such as “Ordinary People,” the piece led off a program of baroque music for the symphony's MasterWorks II concerts at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown.

Tony Kishman plays Paul McCartney, Chris Camilleri plays Ringo Starr, John Brosnan plays George Harrison and Jim Owen plays John Lennon as Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to The Beatles performs live Thursday night with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. The tribute band performed more than two dozen Beatles tunes. The group has been performing for 14 years with more than 100 orchestras in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.  

Barry Tuckwell, founding music director of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, recalls an afternoon conversation with Frances Machen in the spring of 1981. Machen, a local music lover who died last year, had earlier asked the world-renowned French horn virtuoso about leading a symphony orchestra in Hagerstown.   "In two hours we conceived the orchestra," he wrote in an email from his native Australia. "A few months later the orchestra was born," he added. Tuckwell led the MSO for 16 years.

The holidays mark an especially popular time for the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, when the group performs its annual Home for the Holidays show. In its 24th year, tickets for the show go on sale in August and people begin snapping them up that month, said Greg Evans, director of public relations and marketing for the orchestra. Evans said the orchestra had strong ticket sales for this year's shows, which were held Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at The Maryland Theatre. Although Evans did not have ticket sale numbers Sunday, the upper and lower levels of the theater were largely full for Sunday's 3 p.m. show.

There was a decidedly different feel to the  music when the Maryland Symphony Orchestra took the stage Sunday. With Nick Kendall on violin and a drummer sitting at a kit in the middle of the orchestra at The Maryland Theatre, the music took on a funky beat before fans who were anxious for the change. Kendall started his performance at the front row of the spectator section down from the stage. He looked out at the audience at one point and said, “I just need a hug.” “Here,” said MSO Music Director Elizabeth Schulze, welcoming Kendall into her arms.

Michael Jonnes, who led the Springfield (Mass.) Symphony Orchestra for 15 years, has been named the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's new executive director. MSO Board President Dori Nipps said Wednesday that the search committee liked Jonnes' depth of experience. Jonnes succeeds Tamara Nuzzaci Park, who said she is moving to Colorado to set up a consulting business to assist music festivals and to work with other organizations. In addition to his years with the Springfield Symphony, Jonnes has worked in the industry for many years.

Battlefield superintendent thanks volunteers To the editor: On Saturday, April 6, Antietam National Battlefield participated in both the Civil War Preservation Trust's Park Day and the Alice Ferguson Foundation's Potomac Watershed Cleanup. These annual events call for volunteers to take part in a variety of conservation and preservation work projects at Civil War sites across the country as well as removing the trash from our waterways, roadsides and trail within the greater Potomac River watershed.

Maryland Symphony Orchestra Music Director Elizabeth Schulze has been artistic director and conductor of the Flagstaff (Ariz.) Symphony Orchestra since the fall of 2008. Earlier this month, Schulze learned that she is the winner of the first Sorel Medallion in Conducting from The Elizabeth & Michel Sorel Charitable Organization Inc. In the organization's board of directors' announcement, Schulze was cited for the work she displayed in the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM)

Sunday's performance by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra had a decidedly different sound to it as the group offered its rendition of music from “West Side Story.” Among the highlights was the emphasis on percussion, and the instruments were varied. There was a rainstick, which simulated falling rain, and another instrument that was meant to re-create the sound of thunder. “You will hear a lot of sounds you would hear in nature,” Maryland Symphony Orchestra percussionist Julie Boehler told a crowd before Sunday's show.

“Could it be? Yes, it could. Something's coming, something good, If I can wait!” The wait will not be long. “Something” is coming this weekend. The words are Stephen Sondheim's in “Something's Coming,” Tony's anticipatory song in “West Side Story.” Those lyrics also anticipate “Orchestral Dances,” the final masterworks concert of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's 31st season. “The whole orchestra is in the spotlight for this concert,” wrote Music Director Elizabeth Schulze in an email.

Here I go again. Although I've said many times that I'm not a "music writer," I often find myself writing about music. Well, of course. I've been previewing Maryland Symphony Orchestra concerts for years. But here and now, I'm talking about my column that runs the first Sunday of every month in Lifestyle. Even a quick glance at the archives reveals how often I reference song titles or lyrics to make a point. No, I am not a "music writer" in the technical sense of the term.

So picture this: You go to the movies and there is no soundtrack accompanying the film. No music to set the scenes, to enhance the moods, to heighten the suspense. Do you think the impact would be the same as if there were a musical score to guide you from plot point to plot point, from emotional lows to highs, from nerve-wracking action to calm? Not likely. If you have seen any of these films - "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Jaws," "War Horse," "Jurassic Park," "Hook," "JFK," "Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Last Ark" and "Star Wars" - try to imagine what the experience might have been without their music.

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra will present "A Night at the Opera" this weekend at The Maryland Theatre. A warning label might be in order: This is not your father's "Night at the Opera. " Yes, selections from some of the most beloved and well-known operas will be performed. These will include "La donna e mobile" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto," "Dunque io son" from "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini, "Non so piu cosa son" from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Pres: des remparts de Seville" from "Carmen" by Georges Bizet.

Russian-born pianist Vassily Primakov said playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is challenging, especially considering the type of piano the composer used. Primakov said Mozart's piano would have weighed between 100 and 150 pounds when Mozart composed his Concerto for Piano No. 27 in B-flat Major. The Steinway piano Primakov played Sunday afternoon at The Maryland Theatre weighed about 900 pounds. Primakov said the weight difference between the two pianos means Primakov has to impose a lot of control over his instrument to get Mozart's sound.