July 3, 2024

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC”: Performances are underway for “The Sound of Music.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and The Yardley Players; and directed by Kristy Davis, the musical runs through July 7 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Watched suspiciously by the (offstage) Nazis, the Von Trapp Family Singers give a performance on which their lives literally depend. From left are Aurora Quinn (Louisa), Emma Poppell (Brigitta), Gabi Oliano (Gretl), David Nikolas (Captain Von Trapp), Laney Kenwood (Liesl), Lauren Wolensky (Maria), Scarlet Hillman (Marta), Trevin Davis (Kurt), and Joseph Wilson (Friedrich). (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Yardley Players Theatre Company is presenting The Sound of Music at Kelsey Theatre. Kristy Davis directs and choreographs an appealing production that honors the 1965 film adaptation, while accentuating the benefits that a live production can offer the story.

The Sound of Music marks the final collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. The book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse is suggested by Maria Augusta Trapp’s memoir The Trapp Family Singers. The show follows Maria’s journey from novice at Nonnberg Abbey to governess for the seven children of the stern widower Captain Von Trapp; and the threat posed to the family by the Anschluss (the Nazi takeover of Austria) in 1938.  more

June 26, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Festival switched gears this past Thursday night to chamber music with a return visit from the popular ensemble The Sebastians, which draws its moniker from the middle name of towering Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Surmising that Bach might actually have been called “Sebastian” by his friends, the instrumentalists first came together with the goal of playing “mixed chamber music at a high musical level, with friends.” Twelve members of The Sebastians came to Princeton’s Trinity Church last Thursday night as part of Princeton Festival, performing music of their namesake, as well as Bach’s contemporaries. Demonstrating the range and capabilities of 18th-century strings, flute and harpsichord, the conductor-less chamber orchestra showed how Bach’s influence is still felt to this day.

Although German composer Georg Philipp Telemann was more recognized than Bach in his own lifetime, his music was overshadowed by other 18th-century composers until the early 20th century. Since then, his music has been recognized as equally complex and intricate as the more well-known Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. Telemann’s Concerto in A Major for Flute, Violin and Cello was initially published in a collection known as “musique de table,” in the tradition of musicians performing while guests were enjoying a meal. The Sebastians began Telemann’s four-movement work gracefully, with David Ross’ Baroque flute providing a richer and more mellow sound than its 21st-century counterpart.

The combination of a slightly lower Baroque pitch, warm period instruments, and animated music seemed to bring down the temperature on a sultry evening as the ensemble created its own world of precise rhythms and tapered phrase endings. Joining Ross as Concerto soloists were violinist Daniel Lee and cellist Ezra Seltzer. All players watched one another well, with each soloist providing clean melodic passages. The second movement “Allegro” featured Lee and Seltzer in duet under extended trills from Ross. A courtly third movement showed Seltzer plying a wide-ranging cello line, while the light orchestration enabled the audience to hear Kevin Devine’s excellent harpsichord accompaniment.

Violinists Lee and Nicholas DiEugenio were showcased in Telemann’s Gulliver Suite for Two Violins in D Major, inspired by Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels. Throughout this narrative piece, Lee and DiEugenio frequently played in pure thirds, effectively bringing to life the Laputians and Lilliputians through fleeting passages played with precision and a bit of humorous acting at the close.

The Sebastians are known for Bach, and even with one Brandenburg Concerto cut from Thursday’s program, there was plenty of the Baroque master to enjoy. Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major was the only one of Bach’s set of six pieces that did not use violins; the composer scored the three-movement work instead to feature two violas da braccio, which were relatively new at the time and which were expertly played in this performance by Jessica Troy and Kyle Miller. The orchestration often juxtaposed the violas against two more familiar violas da gamba, stylistically played by Matt Zucker and Adrienne Hyde. The Concerto’s key of B-flat and the absence of violins kept the texture mellow, as Troy and Miller maintained a lively dialog with cellist Ezra Seltzer and the two da gambas provided a solid foundation to the sound. Cadences were short and clean, and phrases well tapered. The third movement gigue-like “Allegro” was chipper without being too fast, and was especially noteworthy for Seltzer’s nimble cello lines.

The closing Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major brought the strings of The Sebastians to the stage, with the resulting performance being energized and refreshing. Quick thematic passages were passed down the row of violins and then to the violas, and the instrumentalists showed uniform dynamic contrasts. The second movement “Adagio” was originally composed as only two notes, with the intention that players would improvise a bridge between the two faster movements. Violinist Lee provided a quick improvisation over the two harmonic chords, before the orchestra was off to the races again to close the concert in spirited 18th-century fashion.

“AN EVENING WITH SANTINO FONTANA”: The Princeton Festival has presented “An Evening with Santino Fontana.” Broadway and film star Santino Fontana (above) performed a program of highlights from musical theater and animated films. Fontana was accompanied by pianist Cody Owen Stine. (Photo by Princeton Symphony Orchestra staff)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

An Evening with Santino Fontana” has concluded the Princeton Festival’s season. The June 22 concert took place in the festival’s performance tent on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden.

A debonair baritone, Fontana entertained the audience with standards from Broadway musicals and one animated film. Pianist Cody Owen Stine accompanied the singer on all but one selection. In between songs, Fontana shared amusing anecdotes about his experiences performing onstage and in studios. more

June 19, 2024

By Nancy Plum

It all began with a bet. Three male buddies were arguing over everyone’s favorite topic — fidelity. To prove his point that women are fickle, one dared his companions to entice their fiancées to betray them by pretending to be two other suitors. The companions agreed, and mayhem ensued — all to the delicious music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This, of course, is the plot of Mozart’s popular opera Così fan tutte, which musically addresses the age-old question, “Are women really all like that?” Premiered less than two years before Mozart’s death and full of challenging music for both singers and instrumentalists, Così has remained a popular staple of opera repertory for more than 200 years. The Princeton Festival brought this classic to life this past weekend as a cornerstone presentation of its two-week series of performances and lectures. Accompanied by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and led by conductor Rossen Milanov, six singers took on the daunting assignment of interpreting Mozart’s complex score, delving into the realm of the theatrically silly along the way.

Sunday afternoon’s performance at the pavilion of Princeton’s Morven Music & Garden (the opera officially opened last Friday night) brought a full house under a tent on a perfect weather night for opera. The “Overture” that opened the production was short by 18th-century standards, but set the scene for the action to come. Milanov and the Princeton Symphony players found an elegant Viennese flow to the music, aided by wind solos from oboist Kemp Jernigan and flutist Scott Kemsley. Stage Director James Marvel took the opportunity to introduce the characters during the “Overture” — sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, their respective fiancés Guglielmo and Ferrando, the streetwise maid Despina, and the scheming “philosopher” Don Alfonso. Mozart’s original setting was 1790s Naples, but scenic designer Blair Mielnik and costume designer Marie Miller moved the opening scene far from the 1700s to what looked more like a flamboyant beach community.  more

“DRACULA: A FEMINIST REVENGE FANTASY”: Performances are underway for Princeton Summer Theater’s production of “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy.” Written by Kate Hamill and directed by Eliana Cohen-Orth, the play runs through June 30 at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: a Western version of Dr. Van Helsing (Sophie Falvey) strategizes with Dr. Seward (Teddy Feig), Jonathan Harker (Destine Harrison-Williams), and Mina Harker (Meghana Kumar) about ways to defeat the titular vampire. (Photo by John Venegas Juarez)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Dr. Van Helsing is a feisty American woman in a cowboy hat. Be sure to address her as “Doctor,” not “Madam.” It is for readers and audiences to guess who emerges victorious when this Dr. Van Helsing confronts Dracula.

Playwright Kate Hamill, who has brought a contemporary perspective to theatrical adaptations of several classic novels, loosely adapts and satirizes the Bram Stoker original, pitting the titular Transylvanian vampire against a Van Helsing that seems to be patterned after Annie Oakley (among other characters and archetypes). It is a fun but risky concept that could have come off as gimmicky — but it brilliantly succeeds. more

June 12, 2024

By Nancy Plum

New Jersey Symphony ended its 2023-24 Princeton series with a concert of American works featuring two longtime collaborators. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, Friday night’s performance in Richardson Auditorium included George Gershwin’s immortal Porgy and Bess, as encapsulated into a symphonic suite by noted arranger Robert Russell Bennett, along with Gershwin’s towering Concerto in F Major for Piano and Orchestra with guest piano soloist Daniil Trifonov. Complementing these two American classics was a world premiere of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s orchestral concerto Autumn Days and Nights, which Roumain, the Symphony’s resident artistic catalyst, had dedicated to Zhang.  more

June 5, 2024

“BRIGHT STAR”: Performances are underway for “Bright Star.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and Maurer Productions OnStage, and directed by Judi Parrish, the musical runs through June 9 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Alice Murphy (Lauren Pelaia, standing in front of members of the ensemble) makes a hopeful discovery that a heartbreaking incident from her past may have ended differently than she has been led to believe. (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

There is a striking duality in Bright Star, a musical that is being given an exuberant, heartfelt production at Kelsey Theatre. A story that has a devastating incident at its center is juxtaposed against a rousing, mostly jovial score infused with country and bluegrass songs.

The show’s often humorous but sensitive book is by comedian, actor, and musician Steve Martin. The lyrics are by singer-songwriter Edie Brickell (of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and The Gaddabouts). Brickell and Martin share credit for the story and music. more

By Nancy Plum

Performing 17th- and 18th-century music from a 21st-century perspective is always a challenge. Instruments have evolved over the past centuries, as have acoustical tuning and performance techniques. While orchestras and choruses are often looking for the next new thing, there are ensembles dedicated to preserving performance practice the way Baroque composers intended. One such ensemble is La Fiocco, which presented a season-ending concert this past Saturday at Christ Congregation Princeton.

Specializing in music of the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical eras on period instruments, La Fiocco featured three singers and eight instrumentalists in a program devoted to the music from “Henry Purcell’s London.” Like Mozart, Purcell lived hard and died young as a composer, producing an expansive repertory of music in his 36-year life. He composed under the patronage of England’s last two Stuart kings and musically ushered in the age of William and Mary. For this performance, La Fiocco brought together three experienced and accomplished singers in soprano Laura Heimes, tenor Stephen Ng, and baritone Brian Ming Chu to perform songs and ayres of the esteemed late 17th-century composer, as well as works of Purcell’s contemporaries. Throughout the evening, the three soloists showed themselves to be animated and theatrical, adapting their voices well to the very acoustically-live space of the church.  more

May 29, 2024

“PIPPIN”: Theatre Intime and Princeton University Players have staged “Pippin.” Directed by Solomon Bergquist, the musical was presented May 24-26 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: Pippin (Rowan Johnson) contemplates his future, under the dangerous guidance of the Leading Player (Isabella Rivera). (Photo by Elena Milliken)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Theatre Intime has collaborated with the Princeton University Players to present Pippin (May 24-26) to Reunions Weekend audiences. The musical is an apt fit for a college campus at graduation time; its title character, the fictional first son of Charlemagne, has just completed his studies. The show is an odyssey that follows the prince’s search for his life’s purpose.

Pippin has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, composer and lyricist of the current Broadway hit (and upcoming film series) Wicked, in addition to several musicals that include Godspell, The Magic Show, Children of Eden, and the upcoming The Queen of Versailles. The book is by Roger O. Hirson, who also co-wrote the musical Walking Happy.  more

May 22, 2024

By Nancy Plum

For 40 years, Princeton Singers has presented chamber choral concerts of unique repertoire in some of the more unusual spaces in the area. Comprised of 16 professional choristers, the Singers has maintained a strong commitment to high-level presentation of music of all periods, especially advocating for the creation of new choral works. Led by conductor Steven Sametz (celebrating his 25th year as artistic director), the ensemble observed both its commendable history and Sametz’s significant anniversary this past Saturday night with a concert of “The Best of The Princeton Singers” at Trinity Church in Princeton.  more

“CHOICE”: Performances are underway for “Choice.” Written by Winnie Holzman, and directed by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, the play runs through June 2 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above, from left: The friendship between Erica (Kate A. Mulligan) and Zippy (Ilana Levine) is tested by an impassioned disagreement over the latter’s approach to writing an article about a very controversial subject. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

American political discourse, which already is fraught and polarized, only intensifies when the subject has a religious or spiritual aspect to it.

With Choice, playwright Winnie Holzman examines one of the most polarizing subjects: a woman’s right to choose. On the surface, the play is about reproductive freedom — and the possible ramifications of the decision that is made. But the piece also examines a woman’s a right to choose something else: how to engage with complex moral issues. more

May 15, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Instrumental concertos have been audience blockbusters for centuries. Such composers as Mozart and Beethoven cast themselves as leading stars in their own compositions, and contemporary performers have made stellar careers of exploring the repertory. Princeton Symphony Orchestra presented one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s challenging piano/orchestral works this past weekend, featuring a soloist who maintains an active repertoire of more piano concertos than almost anyone. Led by conductor Rossen Milanov and with soloist Sara Davis Buechner at the keyboard, the musicians of Princeton Symphony Orchestra brought Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major to life, bracketed by a contemporary work honoring nature and a towering Schumann symphony.  more

May 8, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The centuries-old tradition of boys’ choirs has always had a strong presence in the Princeton area. The American Boychoir School musically trained and educated hundreds of young men in its six-decade history in Princeton. Following closure of the Boychoir School, the Westrick Music Academy chose to expand its highly-successful Princeton Girlchoir program by incorporating a boys’ choir under its umbrella, and in the fall of 2017 launched the Princeton Boychoir. Aimed at singers grades three through 12, this program not only provided a musical extension to former American Boychoir members, but has also appealed to a new clientele of talented young performers. Today, the program includes three choirs addressing all stages of the changed and unchanged voice while imparting principles of “confidence, character, and leadership” to create fine young men.

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May 1, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Members of professional orchestras often have successful performing careers on their own, both individually and as part of chamber ensembles. Princeton Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Alistair MacRae maintains a bi-coastal performing life, with faculty and principal appointments on the West Coast in addition to New Jersey. One of his affiliations is as a member of the Puget Sound Piano Trio, ensemble-in-residence at the University of the Puget Sound School of Music in Tacoma, Washington. Princeton Symphony Orchestra presented MacRae and his colleagues in the Trio, violinist Maria Sampen and pianist Ronaldo Rolim, in a concert at Princeton’s Trinity Church last Wednesday night. With the music of Franz Joseph Haydn, Miguel del Aguila, and Felix Mendelssohn, the Trio showed how its four-decade history has created both musical cohesion and high-level performance.  more

April 24, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The period in England between 17th-century composer Henry Purcell and the early 20th century was bleak for native composers. Ralph Vaughan Williams began putting British composition back on the map in the late 19th century, soon joined by Sir Edward Elgar, who had been knocking at the door of recognition for quite a while before the premiere of his epic choral/orchestral The Dream of Gerontius. Taking the practice of incorporating chorus into symphonic works to a new level, Elgar’s Gerontius traces the journey of the title character from deathbed to judgement before God. The Princeton University Orchestra and Glee Club joined forces this past weekend to present this monumental work at Richardson Auditorium. A combined Walter L. Nollner and Stuart B. Mindlin memorial concert, this performance also acknowledged graduating seniors of both ensembles, sending them off into the world celebrating a musical achievement and contemplating the cycle of life questions Elgar raised.  more

April 10, 2024

“FLIGHT OF A LEGLESS BIRD”: Performances are underway for “Flight of a Legless Bird.” Written by Ethan Luk, and directed by Luk in collaboration with retired Program in Theater faculty member R.N. Sandberg, the play runs through April 13 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above, from left: Disparate circumstances cause Robin (Wasif Sami) and Leslie (Luk) to meet, after which a unique, unexpected bond is formed. (Photo by James DeSalvo)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In the film Days of Being Wild (1990), actor Leslie Cheung delivers this line: “I’ve heard that there’s a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life … that’s when it dies.”

Flight of a Legless Bird is an exquisite, poignant play that portrays two queer artists who metaphorically, as Cheung’s dialogue says, “fly and fly.” Both are fleeing from circumstances in which they feel trapped. Certain events cause their “flight” paths to intersect, and they have a chance encounter that affects them in unexpected ways. more

April 3, 2024

“YAGA”: Performances are underway for “Yaga.” Directed by Kat McLaughlin, the play runs through April 7 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, eager college student Henry Kalles (Tate Keuler) and the mysterious Anna (Kristen Tan) strike up a conversation, leading to dangerous events. (Photo by Lucy Shea)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In an Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures (1981), author Tom McGowen describes the “dreaded ogress Baba Yaga” as resembling a “frightfully ugly old woman” who had “stone teeth, and her food was people, especially children.” She lived in a hut “perched on four chicken legs” and “flew through the air after her prey in a large mortar, steered with a pestle.”

Noting the character’s basis in Slavic folklore, the website for World History Encyclopedia adds that she also is known “as guardian of the fountains of the waters of life and is sometimes seen as embodying female empowerment.”  more

March 20, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The period from the late-18th to mid-19th centuries saw the premature deaths of many highly-prolific composers. Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bellini — none lived to see the age of 40, but each composed an astounding body of work which has endured to this day. Not the least in this ill-fated group is French composer Georges Bizet who, felled by a heart attack at the age of 36, was never able to enjoy the success of his immensely popular 1875 opera Carmen. Denounced as immoral at its premiere, Carmen has long since risen above scandal to become one of the most widely-performed operas in the repertory.   more

March 13, 2024

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Symphony Orchestra combined innovative performance with contemporary music this past weekend with a pair of collaborative performances with Time for Three, a groundbreaking ensemble crossing boundaries of classical, Americana, and singer-songwriter genres with virtuosic playing. Led by Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov, the two ensembles alone and together presented an evening of late 19th-century and early 20th-century ballet, as well as a newly-composed work written for Time for Three. The combined performance of these instrumentalists brought the audience to its feet with the dazzling playing of Time for Three double bassist Ranaan Meyer and violinists Nick Kendall and Charles Yang.  more

“DREAMGIRLS”: Performances are underway for “Dreamgirls.” Directed by Lili-Anne Brown, the musical runs through March 24 at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre. Above, from left, sporting glittery costumes, the Dreams — Effie (Trejah Bostic), Deena (Ta-Tynisa Wilson), and Lorrell (Keirsten Hodgens) — perform with a backup ensemble that wears the same outfits worn by the Dreams earlier in the show, before they achieve stardom. (Photo by Diane Sobolewski)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

The Motown-inspired musical Dreamgirls has succeeded both as a Broadway show (1981) directed by Michael Bennett, and as a film (2006). But as the dazzling, energetic production that is playing at McCarter demonstrates, this piece is at its best when it can be seen — and heard — on a live stage.

This revival is a collaboration between Goodspeed Musicals, which presented the show in East Haddam, Conn., in late 2023, and McCarter Theatre. Insightfully directed by five-time Jeff Award winner Lili-Anne Brown (assisted by Vaughn Ryan Midder), the production spotlights both the glamour of the music business and the pain caused by machinations that take place behind the scenes. more

March 6, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The annual Princeton University Orchestra Concerto Competition has always shown the depth of talent in the University student body. This year was no exception, with the Orchestra performing a showcase concert of the Competition winners this past weekend. Under the direction of PUO Conductor Michael Pratt, the Orchestra played three full and complex concerti featuring tuba, cello, and violin soloists. As a bonus, the ensemble presented a world premiere of a collaborative work with the University’s African Music Ensemble and the West African Dafra Kura Band.

The Concerto Competition winners were young this year, with three underclassmen displaying impressive technical dexterity in the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Schumann, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Sophomore Wesley Sanders and the University Orchestra opened Friday night’s performance in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was repeated Saturday night) with Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Bass Tuba. The first major concerto ever written for tuba and orchestra, the 1954 concerto packed within its three movements virtuosic requirements well illustrating the full capabilities of the instrument. more

February 28, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The fall performance of the Richardson Chamber Players, postponed from its original November date at Richardson Auditorium, took place last Thursday night at Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall on the University campus. The concert was devoted to the music of “Les Six,” a group of composers working in Paris during the early 20th century and credited with developing a purely French repertory of music. The nine musicians who performed Thursday night as the Chamber Players presented a program of works for a variety of instrumental and vocal combinations, allowing the audience to experience collective artistry close up.

Clarinetist Jo-Ann Sternberg, violinist Brennan Sweet, and pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti opened the concert with the 1936 Suite for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano of Darius Milhaud, immediately showing a bright ensemble sound. Sternberg’s clarinet lines richly resonated through the intimate space of Taplin Auditorium and Brennan’s lyrical violin passages brought out well Milhaud’s graceful melodies. The three players highlighted the saucy feel of the closing movement, bringing the work to a graceful close.  more

“PIPELINE”: Performances are underway for “Pipeline.” Directed by Alex Conboy, the play runs through March 3 at the Hamilton Murray Theater.Above, from left: Omari (Matthew Oke), a student who faces expulsion from a private school, and his mother, Nya (Alex Conboy), a public school teacher who desperately wants her son to have opportunities that her students may never have. (Photo by Lucy Shea)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Prior to her career as an actor and award-winning playwright, as well as a story editor and co-producer of the Showtime series Shameless, Dominique Morisseau taught drama at the Henry Ford Academy, a high school near Detroit, where her mother also taught.

So Morisseau’s moving and poetic drama Pipeline (2017), in which the central protagonist is a teacher, is informed by firsthand experience. The play won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and premiered at Lincoln Center Theater. more

February 21, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The Princeton University Glee Club, currently under the direction of Gabriel Crouch, has maintained a long history of collaborations with vocal artists and ensembles who come to Princeton to coach the chorus members and perform with the Glee Club in a joint concert. This past week, as part of its 10th anniversary “Glee Club Presents” series, the chorus invited to campus the professional American Spiritual Ensemble, which has sustained a mission of keeping the American Negro spiritual alive for more than 25 years. Founded and led by Everett McCorvey, the Spiritual Ensemble seeks to preserve what McCorvey called “folksongs of the Negro slaves” which were not only a source of comfort, hope, and faith throughout centuries, but also a clandestine form of communication. more

February 14, 2024

By Nancy Plum

The concert this past weekend by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine at McCarter Theatre was long overdue. The Orchestra was scheduled to perform at McCarter a year ago, but the ongoing conflict in that region, combined with travel and economic difficulties, shelved those plans. The Orchestra was finally able to embark on a United States tour this month, and the ensemble brought a rare musical experience to Matthews Theater Sunday afternoon. Led by Volodymyr Sirenko and featuring guest pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky, the Orchestra presented a program steeped in both the Romantic symphonic tradition and Ukrainian musical history.  more