Festival opener celebrates 30 years of greatest hits

CONCERT REVIEW

The Lancaster Festival is in its 33rd year; the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, conducted from the beginning by Gary Sheldon, is now in its 30th.

The Gala Orchestra Concert opening this year’s festival at St. Mary Church on Thursday night celebrated the anniversary with a collection of unabashedly showy and generally short “greatest hits” from the past three decades.

The format made for a sometimes choppy, but often pleasantly surprising program, making good use of a space better designed for the ears than the eyes. Though pillars in St. Mary often blocked sight lines and only the front row of the orchestra could be clearly seen, the lush sound was particularly apparent when both ends of the church were put into use.

Over the years, thousands more people have heard the orchestra outside at Saturday night performances at the Lancaster branch of Ohio University than inside at various Lancaster Festival sites. But the orchestra, whose members come together from all over the country for a couple of weeks over the summer, has a larger impact in a more intimate setting.

For the gala, orchestra Orchestra member spotlight, Cheers Chalet, 1211 Coonpath Road ($20) Guitarist Mak Grgic with members of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, First United Methodist Church, 163 E. Wheeling St. ($10)

The Mavericks with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, Ohio University-Lancaster, Wendel Concert Stage, 1570 Granville Pike ($20 to $37) members performed in various permutations and combinations. The concert opened with not one but two fanfares. Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” played brass in the back of the church against booming drums in the front, while Paul Dukas’ short and powerful fanfare from “La Peri” brought a larger brass contingent together with the percussion in front.

Many of the pieces were designed to showcase the talents of orchestra members and guests. Bach’s familiar Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 highlighted Sheldon on harpsichord, as well as Margaret Swinchoski on flute and concertmaster Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio on violin.

Guest Mak Grgic’s achingly romantic classical guitar took center stage on Rodrigo’s “Fantasia for a Gentleman,” backed by a full complement of strings. Vocal performances, including a brief but powerful audience-pleasing aria from Turandot by tenor Daniel Stein and a longer one from Handel’s Samson by soprano Kate Merryman added variety.

The second act included several pieces making use of organist Jason Gunnell, meshing well with the orchestra.

Though the performance served as a fond look back over the years, situated as it was at the beginning of the festival, it also functioned as a tantalizing preview of the week and a half to come, where festival attendees can catch the talents of the orchestra and its members in various venues.