Full text of the Dayton Daily News Article: The Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra has come up with a terrific way to kick off its 25th anniversary season: it has invited the Dayton Playhouse to collaborate on a production of “Les Miserables” that will include more than 140 singers and musicians from the Miami Valley. All are volunteers. The combined orchestral and vocal undertaking — slated for Oct. 24-26 at the Dayton Masonic Center — marks the first time the two groups have ever collaborated. Ron Kindell, founding conductor for the orchestra, will return to conduct the musical based on the French novel by Victor Hugo. +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo Desmond Thomas will be performing as “Enjolras.” Contributed photos by John Root. Set in France in the early 19th century, the beloved operetta tells the story of Jean Valjean, a poor French peasant who seeks redemption after serving 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Valjean is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert after he breaks parole, takes on a new identity and becomes the wealthy benefactor to many. This production, inspired by the 25th anniversary production in London, features the a score by Claude-Michel Schonburg and Alain Boublil and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Period costumes and visual projections from a Broadway theatrical company will help tell the plot of the story. A big announcement +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo More than 150 musicians and singers are busy rehearsing for the upcoming production of Les Mis. Submitted photos by John Root. MVSO, made up of professional and non-professional musicians, will be making a big announcement next weekend in conjunction with ‘Les Mis”: it will be introducing David Detrick, its newly appointed music director who recently retired as the executive director of the Springfield Symphony. Deitrick, who has a distinguished conducting career that includes performances throughout the world, has led performances for six U.S. presidents and many foreign heads of state and conducted ensembles at the White House, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and the Statue of Liberty Centennial in New York City. He served as a musician and conductor in the U.S. Army for 30 years, and was music director at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo Dave Deitrick, the new music director for for the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra. A community treasure Current principle trumpet and board member Tom Jacobs has been with the orchestra since its inception and labels it a treasure. “The fact that it came into being 25 years ago and is going strong today is a testament to two important things: the dedication of a generation of music educators and the power and beauty of truly great music,” he says. “Many of us learned to play our various instruments and loved the opportunity to play great music by great composers in school groups while growing up or while in college. But for most players, that’s where it ends. There are only so many professional orchestras and there are many really dedicated and talented players to fill their ranks. So for the rest of us, there are other jobs, families, and everyday life that do not involve Bach, Beethoven or Brahms.” +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo Ron Kindell is the founding conductor for MVSO — and will conduct the Les Mis concert. Contributed photos by John Root. The MVSO, he said, has provided that special opportunity to play that great music once again. “Without this orchestra, the volunteer players would never have had a chance to share our heartfelt performance of this great show with the community,” he said about Les Mis. ” It is not an exaggeration to say that many players get goose-bumps and tear up while playing this show.” Performers excited as well +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo Courtney Cummings will play “Éponine.” Contributed photos by John Root. The production will feature 80 principals and chorus members and star Brad Mattingly as Jean Valjean; Wright State vocal instructor, Peter Keates as Javert; Jeff Sams as the Bishop; David Hallowren, 2014 DayTony Award recipient, as the innkeeper Thenardier; Kelli Locker as Madame Thenardier; Taylor Winklenski as Cosette; Courtney Cummings, music director at Temple Israel, as Eponine; Dayton singer/song writer, Lauren Parish, as Fantine; and Gibran Mahmud as Marius. “We auditioned over 200 people,” said Brian Sharp, chairman of the Dayton Playhouse board of directors who was responsible for casting and directing the production and said it’s exciting for the Playhouse to have been invited to partner with the orchestra. “Many of their orchestra members have played in our pit orchestras in our musicals over the years so it’s our chance to give back to them,” Sharp said, adding that the “amazing” music provides a wonderful opportunity for singers to perform with a 60-piece orchestra. +‘Les Mis’ production will feature more than 140 area singers, musicians photo An enthusiastic chorus rehearses for Les Mis. The chorus and soloists are from across the entire area including Cincinnati. Contributed photos ... Read More “It’s something that the average community actor or singer will never get the opportunity to do,” he said. “Most pit orchestras for community theater have about 14 musicians at the most.” Cast member Courtney Cummings said she has been in love with “Les Mis” and its music since the first time she saw it as a child and has always wanted the opportunity to sing one of the roles. “The soaring melodies are so captivating and the story pulls on your heart-strings,” she says. “The fact that ‘Les Miserables’ is a popular show works to our advantage because many cast members were already familiar with the music.” Cummings and others began meeting one-on-one with vocal director Erik Strope in July. “As everyone became more comfortable with the music, the layers of the characters began to take shape,” Cummings explains. “I worked on Eponine a lot at home on my own, trying to figure out the character’s intention behind every line of music and deliver that intention with my voice.” She said it’s imperative to find a purpose for the text, “otherwise the end result is not believable.” Cummings said rehearsals have been a place to explore different options and approaches to the music and to the characters. “The combination of the full orchestra, principal voices, and the large chorus is surely going to knock the socks off the audience, Cummings said. “Through this experience I can see the power that community theater and musical collaboration can have on a person. It certainly has impacted me.” More to come John Root, MVSO’s president and concertmaster, said this upcoming 25th season presented a rare opportunity to celebrate the past and embrace the future of the orchestra. The special season has been two years in the planning. “The stage was already set for us, the orchestra has strong ties to theater from its earliest days with “Theater Under the Stars,” he explains. “’Les Mis’ is a perfect match of orchestra and theater — as a “sung through” musical it most closely resembles the elements of grand opera.” This won’t be the orchestra’s only collaboration in this anniversary year — in February it will team with Gem City Ballet for a full production of the Tchaikovsky ballet, “The Sleeping Beauty,” including costumes, sets and staging. It’s exciting both for musicians who will get to work with talented young people and the dancers who will have the opportunity to dance a major ballet with a live symphony. The season will end with a performance entitled “Freedom and Joy,” which will include Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor. Dayton’s own poet, Dr. Herbert Martin, will provide the emotional narration for Lincoln Portrait. HOW TO GO: What: Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra and The Dayton Playhouse production of ‘Les Miserables’ When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 Where: Dayton Masonic Center, 525 Riverview Drive, Dayton. Across from the Dayton Art Institute. Admission: $20, $18 for Seniors/Students. Contact the Dayton Playhouse Box Office, daytonplayhouse or (937) 424-8477. The box office is staffed from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. At other times, please leave a message and your call will be returned. For more information: mvso.org or daytonplayhouse
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:29:30 +0000
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