Diamond anniversary season continues for the Tuscarawas Philharmonic

The Tuscarawas Philharmonic continues to do things in a big way for its Diamond Anniversary season, with a performance Feb. 12 by the orchestra and 150 voices of Beethoven’s towering epic—his Ninth Symphony. The Malone University Chorale will join forces with the Philharmonic chorus and the performance will also feature soloists Patricia Boehm, soprano, of Alliance, and a member of the University of Mt. Union faculty; Rachel Nunez, mezzo soprano, of Stow, and a member of the Malone University faculty; Jermaine Jackson, tenor, of Bloomington, Ind.; and Ronald Barkett, bass, of Dover.The Philharmonic marked the opening of its 75th consecutive year as the cultural cornerstone of the Tuscarawas Valley by taking up residence in a stunning new home in the magnificent Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Kent State Tuscarawas. The Philharmonic’s 2010-2011 Diamond Anniversary season is also its 15th under the baton of Eric Benjamin, music director. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is still considered musically an inscrutable mystery despite the fact that, as one commentator said, “probably half of humanity can hum…the theme of the choral finale,” known to most of us as Ode to Joy. Completed in 1824, the symphony is considered by critics to be one of the greatest musical compositions ever written.Eric Benjamin said about it: “The Ninth has become the ‘go-to’ piece whenever an orchestra wants to celebrate some significant event - a 75th anniversary, for instance. There are several reasons for this - Beethoven’s nine symphonies are still considered symphonic Super Bowls, orchestral Olympics. Performing them is a kind of ‘extreme sport’ even for the most accomplished orchestras in the world. Of the nine, the last is the longest in actual minutes (just under an hour) and calls for the largest orchestra. With the addition of chorus and soloists, it becomes a festive cultural event and a signal achievement for a performing organization such as the Tuscarawas Philharmonic.“And the music is so fantastic - every page of the score is top quality Beethoven, from the gripping first movement, the spirited second, the third, with its heartbreaking lyricism. The choral finish is one of the most ecstatic moments in all of music, a stirring celebration of art and culture.” The collaboration of the Malone University Chorale, directed by David Donelson, and the Philharmonic chorus in one huge vocal force to sing the monumental fourth movement of the Beethoven will continue the precedent of spectacular presentations begun with the first two concerts of the season—both played to enthusiastic, sold-out crowds.The spectacular performances will continue on Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m., as the Philharmonic presents internationally-acclaimed organist Hector Olivera, whose concerts of both popular and classical music on his two custom touring organs invariably give rise to such accolades as “dazzling,” “stupendous,” “totally impossible to adequately describe,” “absolute Olympic virtuosity” and “in a class by himself.” Nothing like a standard organ concert, Olivera’s concerts surround and thrill the listener with an outpouring of glorious sound, from classics to theatre music.There are two seating levels in the elegant new Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas—Orchestra and Mezzanine on the lower level and Dress Circle and Balcony on the upper level. The “arms” of the Dress Circle descend down each side to stage level—a unique feature of the hall that provides remarkable seats. The Dress Circle and Orchestra are reserved seats; Balcony and Mezzanine seats are general admission (open) seating. Tickets for Philharmonic performances can be reserved at the orchestra’s website: http://www.TuscarawasPhilharmonic.org/, where concert-goers can see what seats are still available at what prices and can reserve their choices by clicking on those exact seats on the diagram and paying by credit card. Printable mail-in forms are also available at the website. Tickets can also be reserved by stopping in, or by calling the PAC box office at 330-308-6400. (Philharmonic tickets are not available through the PAC’s website.)Patrons who make a $50 donation to the Philharmonic still have the opportunity to be entered in a drawing for a diamond tennis bracelet valued at $5,000, an original design donated by The House of Stones in honor of the Philharmonic’s Diamond Anniversary. Information and entries are available at the website or by calling 330-364-1843.