Suite for Chamber Orchestra

BWG with the Trinity Chamber Orhchestra at St. Ann's

2002
12:49 minutes

2002
8:03 minutes

Erik E. Ochsner conducting SONOS Chamber Orchestra
in the world premiere of Celebration!

Celebration! deals with the joy and celebration of life that we need to express after coming to terms with the darker side. With all its excitement and vigor, as well as its interesting unexpected turns, Celebration! makes a great concert opener!!!


World Premiere
SONOS Chamber Orchestra
Erik E. Ochsner, Music Director
The Church of the Holy Trinity
316 East 88th Street, New York NY
February 27, 2003 at 8pm
click for Program Program Notes

~ January 16, 2005 performance by Trinity Chamber Orchestra in Washington, DC with Richard Fazio, Music Director and Conductor.

~ July 21, 2005 by Festival Chamber Orchestra in Shippensgburg, PA with Norm Nunnamacher, Conductor (below) and Dr. Blaine Shover, Artistic Director.

~ May 4, 2008 by Holyoke Civic Symphony in Holyoke, MA with David Kidwell, Artistic Director.

Concert Review by Ken Zabielski

A parody by a bicycle racer

The Symphonic Racing Association of Arlington staged a double-header race on the 5th of Nov. The first race was promoted by Coppi Brian W. Grundstrom. Brian is a hungry, relative new-comer to the sport trying to make a name for himself. The second race was promoted by Antonin Dvorak. Antonin is an old veteran of the sport who raced for a short time in the US, but is currently decomposing somewhere in Europe. The Grundstrom race had three stages, the Dvorak race had four stages.

The venue provided the Tifosi comfortable surroundings with padded seats to view the races, and FREE wine and snacks during intermission, and more FREE wine and desserts after the awards ceremony and podium presentations.

Five semi-professional teams were represented in the peloton.
- The largest team was Team Velocity Virtuoso Violins (TV3). They were clearly the race horses in the peloton. They had speed and could climb high.
- Next was Team Yellow Mellow Cello. They were the cool cats of the peloton, especially since the female members of the team rode their machines with their legs spread open.
- Team Wind was another large and diverse club, riding a variety of machines made from exotic materials such as brass and wood. Team Wind rode their machines, randomly fingering buttons and holes on the tubes. Team Wind say they 'ride like the wind,' but other members of the peloton said they were just 'blow hards.'
- Team Basso had only one one rider, but his machine towered over all the others. Team Basso is named after a famous Italian racer....a lot of that is happening these days you know.
- Finally, Team Percussion hung out mostly at the back of the peloton, simply hitting and banging on their machines. It was disgusting to watch.

By the looks of the teams and the sounds of their pre-race warmup, it was obvious everyone came here to play. And all teams were resplendent in uniform kits with black motifs. The kits were so cool, with the black and all, that I'm sure Joaquin would have an orgasm had he been there.

One more note about the peloton before g r who is the strongest of all, who sets the pace, and controls the peloton. Jeff Dokken, was that one rider who set the tempo that no rider could resist following. It was obvious to the Tifosi and riders alike how Dokken earned his on-the-road nickname, "The Conductor." Jeff collected the tickets and let you ride.

Stage 1 of the race was dominated by TV3. The pace was relatively fast as other teams tried to take the lead. The action got a little confusing, as no one was sure who would finally settle into the back of the pack or surrender a victory. The stage was finally taken by a TV3 rider, who was awarded the coveted black jersey of race leader. A TV3 rider also got the black polka dot jersey for soloing on a highly noted summit. No one was a awarded the black jersey for best young rider as no one in the peloton was a virgin.

Stage 2 started with the Yellow Mellow Cellos controlling the pace, albeit a much slower pace than Stage 1. Not much happened with the overall race leadership. It appears the peloton was making a collective effort save their energy for the final stage. After you've seen enough of these races, you invariably know the pace is going to drop during the second stage. This is why racing is quickly being recognized as the sport of 'Professional Wrestling in Lycra'.....it is always obvious who is going to win, who is going to lose, and how it's going to happen.

Stage 3 is where all the action took place. It seemed each team, except for Percussion, took the lead at one point or another. As each team took the lead, it almost looked and sounded as if all teams were playing from the same playbook, with minor variations. Although Percussion never took the lead, I believe it was their efforts that made everyone else look good by maintaining a rhythm that kept the pace high and the action interesting. An amazing thing happened at the finish line this day, never before seen in the anals, 'err, I mean, the annals of racing. As the peloton wound up for the sprint, every member of the peloton went for the gold, and amazingly, everyone crossed the finish line at the exact same time. The officials called it a virtual tie. Everyone in the peloton climbed onto the podium to accept their bouquets of flowers, don their black race-leader jerseys, and accept the applause of the Tifosi.

With the race over, the Tifosi and racers alike repaired to the post-race reception for FREE wine and desserts. Thank you.

Suite For Chamber Orchestra has been recored on An Orchestral Journey CD.

Score available upon request.