“The Philadelphia Orchestra opened up its podium late Tuesday afternoon to orchestral aspirants, letting amateurs take a spin with a string quintet in Kimmel Center lobby,” writes Peter Dobrin in Wednesday’s (3/1) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Three or four dozen tried out, including Darrel Marsh, 57, from Pine Hill, N.J. … and Kalila Abboud Rosen, 7, of Mount Airy, who declared the experience to be ‘kind of scary … a lot of people were watching. There was a little bit of pressure.’ … Only one was chosen. As a prize, Na’Zir McFadden, 16, from Northeast Philadelphia, got to conduct the entire orchestra in the Offenbach Can-Can Tuesday evening at one of the orchestra’s free ‘pop-up’ concerts in Verizon Hall. Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the orchestra in the rest of the program: Berlioz’ Le Corsaire Overture, Gershwin’s An American in Paris, the third movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 and Fauré’s Pavane. McFadden—a clarinetist—not only had great stick technique, he waved his left hand at the end of the Can-Can to ask the orchestra for more sound. Nézet-Séguin seemed impressed. He asked: ‘Are you free for tomorrow’s rehearsal?’ ”
Posted March 1, 2017
