Bluegrass, classical to meld in pops BSO, Kruger trio plan unique show

BANGOR – Nashville has country music. Chicago has the blues. And, increasingly, Bangor has folk. A unique collaboration between the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and a Switzerland-bred, North Carolina-based bluegrass group suggests that the American Folk Festival isn’t the only kid on the block. Folk has now penetrated the hallowed halls of classical music.

And that can only be a good thing, members of the BSO said on Tuesday when they announced plans for a yearlong music and educational outreach project with the Kruger Brothers, a trio of string players whose upbeat tunes have been popular at venues throughout the state in recent years. In addition to performing with the BSO at this summer’s pops concerts in Kingfield and Camden, the Kruger Brothers will perform with the symphony at the June 2, 2007, world premiere of “Music From the Spring: A Romantic Serenade for Banjo, Guitar, Bass and Orchestra.”

Written by the group’s banjoist Jens Kruger, the work is a full-length orchestral piece that features a montage of sounds classical music followers associate with folk and folk fans associate with classical.

“We’ve been thinking about strings and orchestra arrangements for quite a while,” said Kruger. “This composition is folk music that is classically based. It’s not jazz. The emphasis is on melody that is romantic and partly virtuoso.”

The Kruger Brothers, including Jens, his guitar-playing brother Ewe, and New York City bassist Joel Landsberg, first played in Maine in 2001. When Charles Earley, the group’s U.S. liaison and an associate at WBRC Architects/Engineers in Bangor, learned of Jens’ dream to connect with a symphonic group, he suggested the BSO.

“We had an instant connection,” said Susan Jonason, BSO executive director. “Musically, I loved what the Krugers did. Watching the response of other people, I knew it wasn’t just me. When I found out Jens had a dream of composing for the orchestra, the thought to fulfill that dream was natural. It’s an honor for a group like this to choose our orchestra.”

But Jonason knew the real test would come with Maestro Xiao-Lu Li.

“I knew how excited I was, and the board was, and the staff was, but unless Xiao-Lu felt it, too, it wouldn’t work,” said Jonason. “When he and the Krugers met it was an electric moment, the meeting of minds. I knew it would work then for all of us.”

Because the pairing of classical and bluegrass is unusual, the symphony has also scheduled a series of educational discussions, performances and lectures in Bangor schools and at the Bangor Public Library during the 2006-2007 season. Third grade teachers will incorporate a unit called “Down East to Bangor” into the already existing “Strings Attached” music curriculum to connect local history to music history. The Kruger Brothers will also visit schools.

At a time when symphony orchestras nationwide are working to develop and maintain younger audiences, the BSO is taking more risks with its programming. Earlier this year, it targeted twenty- and thirty-something crowds with a Saturday night concert followed by a chocolate and champagne reception. Similarly, the collaboration with the Krugers is a shake-up of cultural expectations intended to capture the imaginations of new ticket buyers, including those who have helped make the annual folk festival successful.

“When you say banjo and orchestra, or bluegrass and orchestra, it doesn’t go together,” said Jonason. “This is the most intriguing part. The folk festival set the stage in our community to appreciate all kinds of things it hasn’t seen up close. The folk festival primed the pump.”

That mix-up of musical styles is at the heart of what Jonason and the Krugers hope will appeal to a broad audience, since both styles of music have enjoyed – though not necessarily shared – enthusiastic audiences in the state. In the end, whether it’s folk or classical, it comes down to quality.

“The Kruger Brothers are high quality. The Bangor Symphony is high quality. That’s the key to success,” said John Rohman, who was on the original team to bring the National Folk Festival (now the American Folk Festival) to Bangor five years ago and is chair of the Maine Arts Commission. “The juxtaposition is interesting, but it’s only interesting and exciting if it can be done well. With these two groups, there’s no question that it will be done well. The essence of what we are seeing is what makes the [American] Folk Festival so popular. It’s not about genre. It’s about quality. And we have an audience that is sophisticated when it comes to quality music.”

Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.