How can he forget the thrill?
Even now, years later, Columbus Symphony Orchestra Music Director Josh Aerie recalls the excitement of playing a concert as a teen student-cellist with The Boston Symphony at Tanglewood.
The event was what is known as a side-by-side performance with young musicians interspersed with the ensemble.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Aerie said. “And it opened my eyes to the professional orchestral world.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
That explains why Aerie will offer that same side-by-side experience to young local musicians Sunday when the local, mostly volunteer ensemble presents its annual “Hometown Talent” concert at 3:30 p.m. at The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus. Nine students of the Columbus-based Andrews Strings Studio will be seated alongside orchestra members for the performance.
The twist is part of the orchestra’s commitment to encouraging young musicians, a strong focus that Aerie brought with him when he was named the orchestra leader in the fall of 2015.
So is including the ensemble’s annual Youth Concerto Competition winner in the weekend show.
She is violinist and Columbus North junior Minjung Kim. She will perform the first movement of the Dmitri Kabalevsky violin concerto, a piece written primarily for students, with the symphony. Past winners have talked about what they see as a tremendous opportunity to play backed by a full orchestra — a sentiment that Kim mentioned, too.
Plus, she acknowledged that she is “very nervous, but also excited.”
In keeping with the hometown theme, the orchestra also will spotlight longtime local violinist Laura Andrews and concertmaster Phil Palermo performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. Plus, symphony member Paul Hunt will present the Johann Friedrich Fasch trumpet concerto.
And because the concert is considered the orchestra’s family presentation of the season, Aerie is including an audience favorite anywhere: Sergei Prokofiev’s whimsical, classic work of “Peter and the Wolf” with local minister and frequent community event speaker Nic Cable as the narrator. He is bringing his 13-month-old daughter Holiday to the event.
“I love that ‘Peter and the Wolf’ can invite young people to experience music in new and fun ways,” Cable said. “And I’m also excited for my daughter to experience the orchestra.”
Aerie acknowledged that the piece trigger’s audience reactions.
“It’s always a blast to hear children’s gasps when the duck gets eaten by the wolf,” Aerie said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the concert” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Who: The Columbus Symphony Orchestra with student violinist and Youth Concerto Competition winner Minjung Kim and students from Laura Andrews’ Andrews Strings Studio performing with the orchestra.
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Tickets: adults: $10 in advance, $15 at the door; senior citizens and students ages 12 to 18, $5 in advance and $10 at the door; those younger than 12 with a paying adult, free. Information: Facebook page for Columbus Symphony Orchestra of Indiana.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
