It’s pretty unusual for a musician to get started in his or her teens, but Jennifer Higdon, who was honored by the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra with its annual Composer’s Award, didn’t really get started in music until she was 15, as she told the audience at Friday night’s performance. That’s when her mother bought her a flute from a pawn shop (and she had lessons from the Belwin Mills Band Method 1 for flute, a series title that will seem very familiar to at least a certain segment of the population who took instrumental lessons at school). Higdon seemed a little amazed at her success, saying that sometimes when she hears one of her pieces performed she wonders “Did I do that?”
She had other observations to make. “This is the best time in the entire history of classical music to be a composer,” Higdon told the audience. She cited a study estimating that Beethoven had 87 performances of his works over a 19-year period. By contrast, there were over 200 performances of Higdon’s works in the last year alone. “I get a much better deal than Beethoven,” Higdon noted.
After the demonstration of the water gong (for “river sings a song to trees”), she assured us there were no goldfish in the tank; apparently there were during recording sessions for “City Scape.” They were unharmed by the experience, Higdon assured us.
The York Symphony Orchestra had a star soloist this weekend: the violinist Joshua Bell. The concert was, unsurprisingly, sold out two months in advance. He played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor and a selection from John Corigliano’s music for “The Red Violin.” Anyone out there get a chance to see him? (The subway doesn’t count.)
According to Bell’s Web site, his next concerts will be in London (Wigmore Hall, April 10 and 14). Will he take his chances on the underground?
Walt Whitman heard America singing; composers read Walt Whitman and hear the music.
Also, the men’s vocal ensemble Cantus will be performing tonight at Lancaster Mennonite High School at 8 p.m. Tickets are $27; details here (scroll down).
