Youth served at BSO concerts

ORONO – Meredith Crawford will tell you how much she likes Debussy, Tchaikovsky, De Berriot Mendelssohn – “anything that makes you go ‘ah, that is so pretty.'”

The 15-year-old violinist delivered just that to nearly 4,000 youngsters Monday as soloist for three Bangor Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerts at the University of Maine’s Maine Center for the Arts.

An Orono High School freshman and the daughter of Bruce Crawford and Susan Potters of Veazie, Crawford earned the honor of performing the solo by winning the Annas-Cupp Award in the BSO High School Concerto Competition.

She performed a piece that had been suggested by Arnold Liver, her violin teacher, Mendelssohn’s challenging “Violin Concerto in E Minor.”

The music sang under Crawford’s bow – soft, beautiful notes here, a tricky cadenza there.

Pausing as the orchestra played some portions of the piece without her, she held the violin in front of her, fingers dancing along the neck of the instrument as though she were still playing.

The experience of soloing with the BSO was a thrill, Crawford said afterward, “so much fun, the most cool thing ever.”

Crawford has been playing violin for 10 years, from the University of Maine Orchestra to chamber groups to Kneisel Hall, the Arcady Youth Orchestra and the Gilbert & Sullivan Society. This summer, she again will go to music camp at Kinhaven Music School in Weston, Vt.

Also taking its turn at the youth concerts was the BSO Youth Orchestra, featuring talented young musicians from many parts of the state.

Conducted by Charles Kadyk, the students did a smooth job performing “Procession of the Nobles” in addition to offering pre-concert selections such as the lively “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing.”

The Bangor Symphony Orchestra also presented well-chosen music for youngsters, including Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance” and Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”

The latter piece gave BSO conductor candidate Paul Phillips the chance to introduce the kinds of instruments that would be featured along the way – the cellos portraying the peaceful countryside, the tympani and bass drum during the storm, the oboelike English horn during the calm, and finally “a galloping march led by the trumpets.”

The musicians played the overture with impeccable timing and crispness.

For the end of a concert, there’s nothing quite like a march by Sousa, especially “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

When Phillips called for volunteers to conduct the BSO, hundreds of hands went up.

Amber Saucier of Glenburn ascended the podium, lifted the baton, and away they went.

“You know what, Amber?” Phillips asked as the march proceeded. “They’re really following you.” He urged the girl to vary the pace and the orchestra followed suit, with many of the players grinning from ear to ear as they played for the pupil.

Afterward, the young girl took a polished bow, and Phillips told her she could keep the baton because, he said, “You never know when you might be called upon to conduct an orchestra on short notice.”

The orchestras – and Crawford – also performed two more concerts Monday. Some 1,500 pupils from more than 20 schools attended the first concert of the day, including 600 youngsters from Bangor schools.

For information about the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and its programs, call 942-5555 or (800) 639-3221, or visit the Web site at www.bangorsymphony.com.