Watching the “River’ flow Bangor Symphony Orchestra world premiere lifts, unifies community it hails

There was no red carpet, and very few, if any, paparazzi, but the world premiere of Thomas Oboe Lee’s symphony, “The Penobscot River,” was attended Saturday night by a river of people, streaming into the Bangor Auditorium. And in the music, and the coming together of the performers and the audience, the event also seemed to generate a river of community spirit.

For this special concert, in which a brand new symphony was presented to the ears of the world for the very first time, the musicians of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra were joined by 300 singers from the University Of Maine Singers, the University of Maine Oratorio Society and the Bangor High School Chorus, as well as by 10 members of the Robinson Ballet.

Speaking about his symphony, composer Lee likened this first performance to childbirth.

“I don’t have any children,” he said, ” but writing a symphony like this one is like having a child. You work about nine months, it’s very hard work, and then this new thing, this new being, is out in the world and has a life of its own.”

According to BSO staff, this project was actually in the works for nearly four years, beginning with an application to the American Composers Forum, which was commissioning a series of pieces reflecting the rich cultural history and diversity of different regions in the United States. After the selection process, the composer had to familiarize himself with the history of the area, the music had to be written, and the words for the choruses to sing had to be chosen. After months of work, Lee delivered his score to the BSO.

Lee laughs a bit sheepishly, “I was very behind. I was about a month late delivering the score. They nearly disowned me!”

The score delivered, the orchestra, singers and dancers all rehearsed feverishly on their own, only coming together for a full rehearsal within a day of the public performance.

Before the concert, hopes were high. “We’re making history,” said BSO Executive Director Susan Jonason, “When you get a whole community behind you with all the organizations, all the talent and all that wisdom guiding you, it’s just an amazing process.”

BSO president Jim Goff looked up at the bleachers above him and said, “As I stand here, the balconies are filling, this is extraordinary! We’re so pleased that we were able to fund this event with the help of our supporters as a free concert for the people of Bangor and the whole area. This is going to be a remarkable evening.”

Jerry Kaufman, a longtime local supporter of the arts, said, “Hopefully this will let people come and enjoy music and see the classics as not something that is stuffy or for the upper crust, but as something that can be enjoyed and seen by a wide variety of people.”

And then there was the matter of the first game of the World Series. Audience member Stan Freeman was looking forward to an evening of excellent music but voiced his concerns, ” I wonder who we could convince to pull some strings and get the Red Sox scores posted somewhere during the concert!”

The scoreboards in the Auditorium dark and scoreless, the orchestra began the evening with a rousing version of the Star Spangled Banner followed by a performance of “Roman Carnival” by Hector Berlioz. Finally it was time to hear Lee’s “Symphony No. 6: The Penobscot River.”

Addressing the audience of about 2,500 before the piece, the composer spoke about Bangor’s long history as a town of cultural diversity and support for the arts, especially during the heyday of its logging boom, back in the 19th century. “This symphony is about that period of richness and life.”

At this point, the combined orchestra and choruses began the about 30-minute piece, a multitextured, richly layered work, alternating choral movements with movements featuring dance.

Scott Burditt, orchestra manager and horn player, speaking about his reaction to the new piece, said, “It really grows on you. And the poetry is certainly centered on Maine. The music goes along with the text beautifully, gorgeous music that fits the words well.”

Bill Miller, percussionist with the BSO for nearly 48 years, added, “As I listen to it, I enjoy it more and more. It’s really a learning experience. I’m sure the first time you heard Beethoven or Chopin, you didn’t think it sounded that great. So tonight the audience will like it, but probably 10 years from now, the audience will like it even better.”

Gesturing at the risers full of young singers from the local area, Miller said, “The most exciting part is all the young people, the youth of the community. What are they doing tonight? They are here making music. They’re not getting into trouble on the corner somewhere. So the moral of the story is, get the youth involved in music, keep them busy and we’ll all be better for it.”

And for quite a few of the young people involved, this was the largest event they had ever been involved with. Jesse Dunham, a dancer with the Robinson Ballet for eight years, remarked, “We do ‘The Nutcracker’ every year, but this is probably the biggest audience we’ve ever had.”

Keeping the audiences entertained during the intermission was Blue Hill area steel band Planet Pan, again made up mostly of high school students.

After the intermission, the orchestra and choruses returned with a number of short pieces ranging from a beautiful work based on Chinese themes, “The Dance of Yao” by Liu Tieshan Mao Yuan, to a series of patriotic anthems, including Sousa Marches and a salute to the various branches of the military.

For the finale, John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes,” the orchestra was joined by the melodic percussion of the steel drums of Planet Pan in an unlikely but heartwarming end to a unifying and satisfying community event.

As happy audience member Margaret Mollison McIntosh said as she walked through piles of autumn leaves on the way to her car, “Stupendous, just outstanding!” Even Red Sox fan Freeman was delighted, exclaiming after the concert, “This was better than a baseball game!”

For those who missed hearing the symphony, it is not too late. Executive director Jonason promised, “We’re taking it on tour, a reduced orchestration of it is going to go to Millinocket and Bucksport, the head and the mouth of the Penobscot, sometime during the winter. We are trying to coordinate it with the towns right now.”

The next regular concert by the orchestra, featuring works by Bach, Grieg and Haydn, will be held Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono.

For more information on the BSO, go to www.bangorsymphony.com, or call 800-639-3221.