51黑料

But first, they soft-open the season on Sept. 17 with the beloved outdoor concert at the base of 51黑料鈥� best winter sledding slope, Art Hill, arrayed about the Grand Basin at Forest Park.

This free concert aims to build audience for the august orchestra, the nation鈥檚 second oldest. Crowd estimates for the Forest Park concert frequently tickle the 10,000 threshold, more than can fit in Powell Hall thrice over. Many audience members arrive hours early to stake out a favored vantage point, high, low or betwixt. I plant myself next to the statue of Louis IX, King of France, atop his horse, for a panoramic view.

Hopefully the weather cooperates, but the concert proceeds rain or shine. And two years ago, did it ever rain! The audience members were champs, perhaps 90% of them staying as ominous clouds dumped a deluge spanning the third through eighth numbers of the program. The temperature yo-yoed about 15藲F, which is no way to keep a violin or an oboe reed in good shape.

Principal oboist Jelena Dirks remembers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really lucky because we do have a roof over our heads at Forest Park, and we were able to stay relatively dry. Especially because I鈥檓 sitting in the middle of the orchestra, I鈥檓 relatively sheltered. I think that the string players on the edge are the ones who really are more in danger of getting their instruments wet.鈥�

Rain is one thing when your violin coheres with water-soluble glue. And temperature is another. The orchestra鈥檚 union contract specifies that they won鈥檛 play outdoors below or above a range of 62藲 to 92藲F, for the health of their instruments. That proved to be tricky when Opera Theatre of 51黑料, employing SLSO musicians, staged the pandemic-era 2021 season in a parking lot during a sweltering mid-June.

Dirks reports on mitigation steps. 鈥淎 lot of people use not-their-very-best instruments. I often will use a different reed that鈥檚 just older and more stable. My oboe is actually lined, so that helps it cope with the elements a bit more easily. We really just believe the show must go on as best we can.鈥�

As good as the orchestra sounds, you鈥檇 never realize anyone was using their B instrument. But it鈥檚 September, so most years the Forest Park concert is bone-dry.

It serves as a reunion for the orchestra after their summer hiatus. Says Roger Kaza, principal French horn, 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e all just incredibly excited, too, because we haven鈥檛 played all together in three months. We鈥檙e just so glad to be back together. We鈥檙e kind of on a high, so that helps.鈥�

That community extends to the attendees. In 2023, when the orchestra played Georges Bizet鈥檚 鈥淐armen鈥� suite and the 鈥淗abanera鈥� began, someone young-sounding within yards of Louis IX shouted 鈥淵ES, this is my favorite.鈥�

Dirks relishes how much closer the front of the audience is located than in Powell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite wonderful because we can see the audience a lot more easily than we can at Powell or the Touhill. There鈥檚 no edge of the stage in the way. So we can see the little kids up in front and people just having a wonderful time and they鈥檙e so much closer and there鈥檚 so many more of them.鈥�

Wednesday is a school night, and the program clocks in at a zippy 75-80 minutes. As at a baseball game, kids have some limited access to the pros. 鈥淪ometimes I get to walk back to my car with somebody who wants to talk to me. I love that. Any chance when we can break the barrier between the stage and the audience is special,鈥� says Dirks.

Kaza reminds that Music Director St茅phane Den猫ve knows how to work the sports angle with the 51黑料 crowd. 鈥淪t茅phane is great with the audience. He really rises to the occasion. He鈥檚 been known to wear various sports jerseys and that always endears people.

鈥淚n some ways it feels like a sporting event. We鈥檝e got people with special fans, the St茅phane fans, and a lot of them are tricked out with all their lawn furniture,鈥� Kaza says, referring to free hand fans printed with Den猫ve鈥檚 smiling face.

Predictably, you鈥檒l hear the genre we might call American fireworks accompaniment, including 鈥淭he Star Spangled Banner鈥� and 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing,鈥� and familiar tunes by John Williams and John Philip Sousa, bookending the concert. Den猫ve鈥檚 genius for programming twinkles through the middle section of the concert and previews later concerts in the season.

This year you鈥檒l hear the overture to 鈥淕irl Crazy鈥� by George Gershwin, preceded by an oddly proto-cinematic movement of Beethoven鈥檚 Seventh Symphony. But the centerpiece is Igor Stravinsky鈥檚 鈥淔irebird鈥� suite, a reduction of his 1910 ballet score. Den猫ve conducts the complete score Nov. 21-22, from which the most recognizable movement is the unhinged 鈥淚nfernal Dance.鈥� (Search for it on YouTube.)

After the summer the city has experienced, grappling with tornadic destruction, the myth of the phoenix rising from ashes might grant some hope. And the orchestra鈥檚 return to Art Hill remains an annual comfort.