Dave Werden Soloist - Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis

[davewerden]

If you are near the Twin Cities, please come to a free concert by the Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis, where I will be the euphonium soloist. It is Feb. 12 at 3pm at Wayzata Community Church (a Twin Cities western suburb). This is the first time I've done a solo in front of an orchestra. Previously the closest I got was an extensive euphonium solo from with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony on the "Age of Gold" by Shostakovitch.

Solos:
"Mephisto Masque" by Edmond Dede (the first performance of my orchestra restoration of this little-known work by a free-born black American. This is Black History Month, so it fits well)
"Morceau Symphonique" by Alexandre Guilmant

The orchestra will also play Beethoven's Leonore Overture, no. 3 and the colorful Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Here is the orchestra's page for this concert:
http://www.civicorchestrampls.org/in...ruary-12-2017/

[John Morgan]

Good luck with the solos. I played in front of the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra (first time, too, on euphonium) for Ferdinand David's Trombone Concertino in Eb a couple years ago. Was really fun to play this solo on euphonium (the piece was actually written for trombone) in front of an orchestra.

Dave, I don't know about you, but I found standing in front of an orchestra to be a little different than standing in front of a concert band (which I am very used to). I found it was more challenging concerning intonation and hearing the orchestra and their overall pitch, especially during soft passages. I was back stage during the piece before my solo and "tuned up" by listening closely to and playing along with the orchestra before I even went on stage. I did not tune up with the concertmaster when I came on. The feedback I got from the audience (people who were musicians and those who weren't) was very positive, and they all seemed to like the euphonium sound with the orchestra.

I know others (Steven Mead and David Childs to name a couple) are actively involved in performing with orchestras. I like this trend.

Our biological clocks must be going off together, I am playing Morceau Symphonique right now with the Rapid City New Horizons Band. Great piece, especially if you can really rip at the end.

Wish I could hear you in person, Dave, but one thing I know for sure is you will be outstanding!! Break a leg!!

[davewerden]

Thanks, John. Our only rehearsal so far was a note-learning job for the orchestra, and that, of course, leads to loose pitch centers. But I think I found the overall pitch center pretty well. However, certain notes surprised me here and there. We have two more before the gig, so we'll see!

[enhite]

Sounds like an exciting concert. I wish I could be there.

[John Morgan]

Okay, so how did it go, Dave? I suspect you were a superstar. I like playing Morceau Symphonique. Hope your audience liked it, too. How did you like playing in front of an orchestra?

[davewerden]

Here is a peek at the videos of my two solos. They are not public yet, so you folks are the first!

Mephisto Masque
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cOQlMwfcWA
Morceau Symphonique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzj3AxBPXJc

[davewerden]

And to answer John's questions, standing in front of an orchestra is certainly different in some way, and the same in some ways.

Same:

• With limited rehearsal time and a group unfamiliar with either piece, we did not find final tempos.
• It's hard to play the solo AND listen to the accompaniment parts! I am more reliant on the conductor than I would be with piano, for example.
• If one is not playing within the ensemble before the solo(s), the first note played can be iffy. Mine was just a bit shy about coming out of the horn at the quiet dynamic.

Different:

• The only family of instrument we're likely to be least familiar with is the same one that is sitting closest to the soloist! The strings are remarkably different from any wind instrument. That made intonation much harder than I'm used to.
• The strings can play with a lighter texture in some ways than woodwinds (who are doing much of the same job in band), which can be handy. We didn't have time to really get into that with this gig, but clearly the potential is there.

It was great fun, and I was yet again reminded of how great community ensembles are! Not unlike what I learned from watching Brass Off, the players don't get paid... in fact that pay annual dues to be in the group. So these are folks who really want to be there!

[John Morgan]

Here is a peek at the videos of my two solos. They are not public yet, so you folks are the first!

Mephisto Masque
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cOQlMwfcWA

Morceau Symphonique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzj3AxBPXJc

Nice job on both pieces!! The Mephisto Masque arrangement is well done. I could hear you fine in places where a lot of the winds weren't playing, but had a hard time hearing you when the whole orchestra was playing. Don't know if they were playing too loud, or if it was just written that way and your part wasn't supposed to stand out, but I sort of doubt that. I know from playing in many community groups that sometimes the group volume is either on or off (loud or not loud). But nice piece in any event. And of course the great standard Morceau Symphonique, which you did a stellar job on. Glad to see you are using music, too. I used to play all solos from memory, but find as I get older that 1) it doesn't matter, 2) one tends to forget stuff, and 3) why add any unusual stress into your retired years? I did, however, play Carnival of Venice recently from memory for about a dozen performances, probably because I learned that piece in the 8th grade (after practicing hundreds of hours) and I couldn't forget it if I tried.

Bravo, Dave!!

[John Morgan]

And to answer John's questions, standing in front of an orchestra is certainly different in some way, and the same in some ways.

Same:

• With limited rehearsal time and a group unfamiliar with either piece, we did not find final tempos.
• It's hard to play the solo AND listen to the accompaniment parts! I am more reliant on the conductor than I would be with piano, for example.
• If one is not playing within the ensemble before the solo(s), the first note played can be iffy. Mine was just a bit shy about coming out of the horn at the quiet dynamic.

Different:

• The only family of instrument we're likely to be least familiar with is the same one that is sitting closest to the soloist! The strings are remarkably different from any wind instrument. That made intonation much harder than I'm used to.
• The strings can play with a lighter texture in some ways than woodwinds (who are doing much of the same job in band), which can be handy. We didn't have time to really get into that with this gig, but clearly the potential is there.

Some of the issues I have with Morceau and other solos and my New Horizons Band (some pretty good folks, some not so pretty good) is that the tempos can vary dramatically from measure to measure. For instance, when the trumpets come in in some of the places in the tune, it can immediately slow down by 20-30 beats per minute. Makes it difficult to decide whether to press on at MY tempo, or go at the slow one. I play the ending pretty fast and fight to keep it going. I usually press on at my tempo in rehearsal so the band learns the tempo, but will compromise during a performance so it doesn't sound chaotic.

The intonation issue was the one I was curious about before. I, too, found that to be somewhat difficult. It was just like trying to play in tune with a sound you are not used to hearing. It wouldn't seem like that is a big deal. I do play bass trombone in a symphony and usually don't have trouble with intonation, but sometimes I do.

[davewerden]

John,

The balance in Mephisto is roughly what the score calls for. Much of the latter half is really an ensemble piece. Most of the places where I'm not prominent are where I'm really just doubling the bass line. In fact, I was wondering if the ophicleide player would have been out front or playing from somewhere within. But it confused some in the audience, too (so it's not just the recording, even though the mics were not even close to ideally placed!).

FWIW, I just made some changes to the orchestra version today. I left the euphonium on the melody for the whole coda, re-wrote a few dynamics, and took out some of the doubling instruments. But it will still be an ensemble show for a lot of the latter material. I think I'll write up some suggested program notes about that.

[JasonDonnelly]

Having played Morceau with an orchestra before, I certainly remember the string players getting antsy about the key of Eb minor.

Both solos sound great! I also found it a bit difficult to hear you playing in Mephisto when the orchestration got thicker, but it did not ruin the integrity of the piece.

[RickF]

Very nice Dave. Thanks for sharing.