Versatility shown by ISU Symphony Orchestra in Perry Fine Arts performance Tuesday

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Concert Master Nathaniel Hardy, left, violin soloist Borivoj Matinic-Jercic, standing, and Conductor Jacob Harrison led the 90-member Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra in a two-hour performance Tuesday at the Perry Performing Arts Center.

Patrons of Perry Fine Arts were treated to a musical smorgasbord Tuesday when the Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jacob Harrison, played three pieces that showed the wide range of the student orchestra’s talents.

Violinist Borivoj Matinic-Jercic was the featured soloist on the final work, Peter Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35, written in 1878. The Russian composer’s late romanticism was on full display in the work, which might lack the explosivity of his more famous symphonies but is nonetheless by turns exquisitely lyrical and robustly energetic.

Martinic-Jercic, a svelte man in his fifties, is a professor of violin and viola in the ISU Department of Music. He often smiled with encouragement at players in the string section, many of whom he doubtless knows and has taught.

The Croatian-American violinist seemed to show great technical mastery of the Tchaikovsky score, which musicians say is a very demanding piece to play. Harrison led the orchestra through the three movements of the 35-minute work.

The orchestral suite from Johnny Greenwood’s score of the 2007 film “There Will Be Blood” showed the ISU Orchestra is capable of playing difficult modern works with poise and polish. The third movement of this six-movement piece was ghostly in its dissident opening, creating a kind of chaos from which gradually emerged order and measure.

The evening opened with a world premiere. “On the Shoulders of Giants,” composed by Jeffrey L. Prater, professor emeritus in the ISU Music Department, was commissioned in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the University Museums at ISU.

According to Prater, “‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ is a celebratory piece of music dedicated to all the giants in our lives who, when standing upon their shoulders, helped make us the people we are and who helped shape, and continue to shape, our changing world.”

About 200 people attended the Perry Fine Arts event. The group’s next event will be the 37th annual William Bell Memorial Tuba and Euphonium Day clinic and concert on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the First United Methodist Church at 1100 Third St. in Perry.

Perry Fine Arts concerts are free and open to all. Donations will be accepted.

The Performing Arts Center is handicapped accessible.

For more information, contact Duane Griffin, 515-465-4782, 1802 W. Second St., Perry, IA 50220, duligriffin@mchsi.com.

The Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jacob Harrison, was warmly received by the audience of about 200 at the Perry Performing Arts Center Tuesday night.
The Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jacob Harrison, was warmly received by the audience of about 200 at the Perry Performing Arts Center Tuesday night.

1 COMMENT

  1. The concert was outstanding, and the only bad thing is that the Performing Arts Center should have been filled to capacity. Not every community can have such a wonderful concert, and Perry Fine Arts needs to be commended. The community needs to be more supportive of Perry Fine Arts. You don’t know what you missed.

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