Britt Classical: Bring on the Baton – by Paula & Terry Erdmann

Conductor Peter Bay. Photo by Josh Morell

Each year, along with many fellow residents, we open our home to a classical musician. The perk for the musician is a quiet place to practice and, when needed, to sleep. The perk for us is in briefly “adopting” someone with talent and enthusiasm, and to listen, transfixed, as the tuneful sounds of viola, bass trombone or cello course through the house from the bedroom/practice room. In the mornings, after our musical friend has rushed to the orchestra’s daily rehearsal, we water our tomatoes as euphonious strains of Brahms or Berlioz or Bruch ebb over us on a lazy breeze. In the evenings, we spread our blanket and picnic repast on Britt Hill, sipping wine while silently toasting Maestro Peter Bay as he holds sway before this golden gathering, this season to be his twentieth in our town.

And his last, alas.

Sadly, Bay has announced 2012 as his final year leading the Britt Festival Orchestra. When he isn’t at the Britt, he holds a full-time position as music director and conductor for the Austin (Texas) Symphony Orchestra. By freeing up his schedule, he’ll be able to spend more time at home with his family, something he reportedly has been looking forward to.

           For his final season, Bay is bringing us plenty to look forward to—the return of some of our Britt audience’s favorite performers, including: virtuoso violinist Sara Chang (August 3), in 2006 named by Newsweek as one of the twenty most important women in America; pianist Anton Nel (August 4), the artist who invited a 2009 rain-soaked Britt audience onto the stage to sit among the players; and piano superstar Andre Watts (August 10), who in 2011 received the National Medal of the Arts from the President of the United States.

But it’s not just the guest artists we’re excited about. The spotlight will shine on players who have spent enough seasons in Jacksonville that we think of them as honorary locals. David Anderson, the orchestra’s principal bassist since 1994, will perform the world premiere of “Celebration.” Also scheduled for August 4, it’s a piece that he composed to commemorate the Britt’s 50^th Anniversary. We’ve often wandered into the Bella Union following a classical performance to see Anderson sitting in on the electric bass, and shining on that instrument as much as he does on the double bass (a fact well known in the clubs of his home town, New Orleans). And also on August 10, a performance of Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante will feature four principal players you’ve likely seen around town: Joseph Salvalaggio (oboe) Erich Heckscher (bassoon), Ignace “Iggie” Jang (violin) and Douglas Harvey (cello). Think of these musical masters as our own part time “garage band.” They won’t mind.

Anton Nel

If some of you think you can’t get into the classical stuff because it’s “too stiff and serious” (you know who you are!), we urge you to attend the Britt’s “Pops Night.” We guarantee that you’ll not only recognize fun and familiar melodies, but even hum along as selections from movie soundtrack composer John Williams (Hook, Schindler’s List) and much loved favorites by Rodgers and Hammerstein (South Pacific) and Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story) flow from the stage. Making this August 18 evening even more enticing—tickets are only five bucks. Yup. Five bucks.

Then there’s August 19—Peter Bay’s final appearance as Director with a capital “D.” As a sentimental treat for longtime Britt fans, Bay’s closing concert will feature the exact program that the Maestro auditioned with two long decades ago: Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances.

We can’t think of a better place to be on a hot August night.

             Paula and Terry each have long impressive-sounding resumes implying that they are battle-scarred veterans of life within the Hollywood studios. They’re now happily relaxed into Jacksonville.

Editor’s Note: Click here for the full Classical Season Article and visit www.brittfest.org for tickets!