Countless flower bouquets filled the recital hall as families gathered to watch the orchestral performance “Enigma.” The tumultuous sound of people greeting and instruments tuning brings excitement to the hall. Excited and nervous musicians in their concert-black waving at their loved ones and proud parents asking the musicians on stage to stand up from afar so they can take a picture create an endearing sight.
Some musicians nervously tune and ask final details about their music sheets, but as soon as the lights dim, silence plagues the hall. A thunderous applause introduces Concertmaster Jessica Lara, who tunes the orchestra and then sits down. All of the bows from the string section rise and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “The Bamboula: Rhapsodic Dance, Op.75” dramatically commences.
Violins and violas zigzag in unison, the French horns bestowed depth to the piece and the triangle conferred a magical detail to it. Emotion runs through the eyes of the spectators as the musicians play — with determined faces — a tune reminiscent of an old Disney movie, making one think of a ball in “Cinderella” or a “Looney Tunes” cartoon. An intense ending wraps everything together, with running violins and bows up in the air. The mesmerized audience has no choice but to automatically applaud. What a piece to start the performance.
The musicians adjust their chairs for the next song. They are seen smiling — proud of what they just played — and applause introduces Josette Garcia, the violin soloist of the night, who walks out in an elegant burgundy gown. Ernest Bloch’s “Nigun” from Baal Shem starts on a somber note, sounding like a dark walk in the woods.
Garcia concentrates on playing every note with precision. Her nervousness shows in her rapid blinking, replaying every single note in her mind and painting the detailed musical picture. The song goes to a quiet end, contrasting the screams of two men who stand up to applaud, then everyone follows suit to holler.
The last soloist of the night, Emily Densmore, arrives on stage with her soprano voice as instrument and a dark blue dress that beautifully sparkles. Her stage presence strikes even before she sings. Her expressions perfectly convey the emotions of the song, and as her voice echoes into the crowd, people’s faces contort into shock and awe. Her expressive singing paints the scenario, with one seeing her devastation, then her joyfulness and finally her well-deserved pride in singing Vincenzo Bellini’s “Qui la voce sua soave” from “I Puritani.” Her voice flawlessly jumps through every note, making one slightly annoyed with the performance’s brief duration.
Dr. Tracy Cowden, Dr. Stephanie Westney and violin student Karyl de Guzman stand to say some words for conductor Troy Peters, who is stepping down from his six-year role at UTSA to keep working as Music Director of Youth Orchestras of San Antonio. Peters received a plaque to recognize his work, gifts, hugs, handshakes and a huge round of applause.
Peters joked about not making a speech but proceeded to make one to shout out the seniors, say thanks about his job and express how proud he is of everyone and to toast the tuba players. He introduces the last piece — Edward Elgar’s “ariations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 ‘Enigma’” — explaining in the easiest way possible the variations of the piece by reading from a crumbled yellow notepad sheet of paper.
“We are all so grateful for [Peters], and we wish him all so well for his future endeavors.” said Akemi Nuñez, a music marketing major who played violin for the orchestra. “In general, I feel our orchestra is just so well prepared, so we always have a blast every time, and especially, this concert is a very bittersweet moment for all of us since [Peters] is leaving.”
The piece quietly starts with violins and violas, then oboes, cellos, double bass and every other instrument join in the careful and intrinsic piece. Peters shakes his fist as he conducts the next variations with passion. Magical and playful sounds bring nostalgic memories. The rhythm section introduces thunderstorm sounds, perplexing the audience.
“Nimrod,” the variation 9, was introduced by Peters as a song that “Bugs Bunny turned into an insult, but it wasn’t before.” The beautiful piece starts, and the audience sheds a couple of tears. Musical notes flow through the listener’s ears like a sea of sound. Another variation introduces a caricature vibe that intensifies as soon as the music sheets flip.
“This performance was probably the best I’ve heard of the UTSA Orchestra. It was really beautiful,” said Ethan Mendiola, a music composition major attending.
After closing his last performance at UTSA triumphantly, Maestro Peters offered advice to his music students.
“The bottom line is that we are fortunate in music to have this thing that renews us and keeps us energized when life gets hard. Like work is work, and no matter where we are going, there are times where it’s hard to do the work. But music can be this battery that recharges you if you stay attentive to what it offers,” Peters said. “I would just say if you go through life don’t forget the love for music, keep going back to the music.”
The end of the piece is cathartic. It brings great excitement to the audience. The musicians play with such mellifluousness that there was a three-minute standing ovation. Relief was seen on the musicians’ faces, joyful that their performance was flawless.
