Review in the
Spectator
The String School's recent Spring Concert was
reviewed in the May 17 issue of the Spectator
by classical music reviewer John Lambert. (Reprinted in the 22 May 1999
issue.)
"The following afternoon and evening, we took in some of the offerings
of the Duke University String School, presented in Baldwin Auditorium; this was
the 33rd spring concert given by the School. During the matinee, chamber groups
were featured--movements of string quartets, trios, duos and such. Although all
these players are young and in the earliest stages of what may be for some
performing careers, the results were pleasing
and some were far better than that, and even those that were flawed,
technically, reflected good understanding of the music being performed.
Twenty-seven young
musicians took part; Stephanie Swisher encouraged and in some cases directed
the efforts, aided by other DUSS staffers. Standouts included performances by
violinists Michael Adams, Matt Kiefer, James Dargan, Justin Lo, and Andrew
Bonner--who just
happen to be among the more senior participants. There is high quality in the
pipeline.
The evening program started with an intermediate ensemble of 33 players led by
Stephanie Swisher in music by Telemann, Handel and Bach; this was followed by
the Duke University String School Chamber Ensemble. This is clearly the
School's finest group, and its work was excellent. Solo cellists Lila and
Leslie Riley were heard in a Vivaldi concerto--the Riley household must be a
lively place when these sisters get into
competitive practicing! A Haitian folk tune scored by Michael Adams and
arranged by John Jost provided an example of the kind of innovative programming
that has long distinguished these presentations. Brandi Weaver soloed in part
of Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy," but the program's chief attraction
was a complete performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto by Wendy Jones, who
played it from memory and without evident technical
blemish. The accompaniment was somewhat strange--we're not used to hearing this
work clothed by some 55 strings, timpani, a pair of flutes, and a pianist (Sam
Hammond), who filled in the missing brass and woodwind parts. It sounded a bit
like Beethoven's arrangement of the work for keyboard (sometimes called the
Sixth Piano Concerto), with violin obbligato, but it worked well enough.
Dorothy Kitchen, whose life has been in large measure devoted to music
education, led the Chamber Ensemble with a pencil ('tis said
that a baton flew away from her at some point in her career and she's eschewed
the customary conductor's tool ever since), providing firm cueing and overall
guidance. Because there were few technical distractions anywhere, we were free
to concentrate on the interpretation, which was well thought out and often
quite moving. That this was a student undertaking made the results quite
remarkable."
Dorothy Kitchen paid tribute to her current crop of players in a May 1
newsletter, from which we are pleased to quote the following excerpt. It
demonstrates the love she has brought to her work for the past 32 years--for
which contributions she was on May 5 honored by the North Carolina School of
the Arts as "Teacher of the Year in the Field of Music."
"Dear Students, Parents, Teachers, and Friends,
As we complete this season with a marvelous concert, I am touched as I
look at our seniors and see how many of them began with DUSS--indeed how many
of them I began myself--and how pleased I am with their development and their
loyalty to music and to the school. If I were to give any parting wish or even
benediction, to
all of them it would be--whether they will be pursuing music as a career or
using it in other ways--to love what you have done, respect what you are, and
never let your
instrument fail to be part of your life and what makes up your innermost being.
It is an extension of yourself and you speak with it in another non-verbal
language
which you have worked many hours to learn, and with it you have made many
friends. I look forward to the future, to the summer, to next year. But as a
teacher,
a conductor, a musician, I will remember these young people who have been here
and played music with me and their colleagues. May music always give them joy
and keep them happy."
-- Dorothy Kitchen
For the record, those seniors to whom she refers are Andrew Bonner, Amber Lunn,
Willie Tufts, Wendy Jones, Alyson Paulick, Emily Metzloff, Emily Jackson, and
Brandi Weaver. To all of them and to their fellow musicians, we too say thanks
and best wishes.
