Orchestra director prepares for season Li to travel to Maine from Baton Rouge area

BANGOR – “Hello! Yes, I’d love to talk to you, but there is a hurricane coming and we are under orders to evacuate. Can you call me back at another place?”

Bangor Symphony Orchestra Director Xiao-Lu Li may have a sunny attitude, but he has been physically experiencing a lot of extremely stormy weather this summer. As if giving phone interviews during Hurricane Rita were not enough, Li was at his family home in the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana during the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina.

“I would like to thank all of you in the Bangor area for your concern,” Li said by phone Wednesday. “I am OK, my family is OK and our home is OK.”

Maestro Li went on to say that he felt touched by the public reaction to the devastation wrought by Katrina. “It is a wonderful thing seeing so many people willing to help … a real reflection of the greatness of the American people.”

Li is looking forward to his return to Bangor, and to the start of the 2005-2006 BSO season. “This is our 110th year,” he noted. “We are the oldest community orchestra in the country and it is always exciting to see involvement between the community of Bangor and its orchestra.”

The maestro also is anticipating a series of concerts that will reward the listener with the great traditions of classical music while presenting challenging elements. “It’s like lifting weight,” he said. “If you only lift a light weight over and over again, you will never get strong, so you have to increase the weight sometimes. Of course if you try to lift too much weight,” he jokes, “it just might kill you!”

The first concert of the season, to be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono, will feature Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, op. 92, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36. Chicago-based James Giles, who has been described as an elegant, technically polished pianist, is the guest musician.

Other season highlights include: the Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56 of Beethoven, with guest soloists Phillip and Noreen Silver and new BSO concertmaster Trond Saeverud; The German Requiem, op. 45 of Brahms with soprano Kelly Nassief and baritone Zheng Zhou, along with the combined University of Maine Singers and the University of Maine Oratorio Society; and a special season finale performance of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals with guests Henry Kramer and Pallavi Mahidhara on double piano.

If the music in and of itself is not enough to entice the potential audience member, Li and the orchestra staff have scheduled several special events that will give a personal touch to the BSO experience. The first of these events is a “Meet the Symphony” party from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Oriental Jade restaurant in Bangor. Guests will have a chance to meet and chat with the musicians and hear live music as they dine.

For those with a more adventurous streak, Li once again will host a BSO tour of China in the spring of 2006. “It’s going to be a great trip!” Li enthused, explaining that the goal is to forge ties, both between China and the United States and also among trip participants. “After you live together for two weeks, you have made a friend for life.”

When asked what part he will play in the excursion, Li joked, “Oh, I’ll be bodyguard, tour guide, translator, everything!” One thing is certain: If the effervescent conductor is on the trip, it will feel as though the sun is shining regardless of the weather.

For information on the special events as well as the concert season, visit the BSO Web site at http://www.bangorsymphony.com or telephone the symphony office at 942-5555 or (800) 639-3221. Helen York can be reached for comment at heyork@hotmail.com.