In Thursday’s (4/28) Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), Melinda Johnson writes, “Wednesday night was to be the crowning concert of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra’s 50th anniversary season—a sold-out performance with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. But because of financial problems and the April 5 decision by the board to close the organization and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the musicians of the SSO performed a free thank-you concert at West Genesee High School. … Daniel Hege, former SSO music director, conducted about 65 of the orchestra’s musicians in a program lasting almost two hours. Musicians wanted to keep the April 27 concert date, minus the famous cellist, as a show of appreciation to the community for its continued support since the SSO announced in January its precarious financial situation. ‘The celebrity tonight are these musicians,’ Hege said after opening the program with Leonard Bernstein’s overture to ‘Candide,’ alluding to the original Yo-Yo Ma appearance. … The program also featured Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, De Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance,’ Gershwin’s ‘American in Paris’ and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. The night ended with the audience rising to its feet, four minutes of applause, cheering and whistling for the musicians of the Syracuse Symphony.”
Posted April 28, 2011
