All-American evening
Thanksgiving comes early this year and might well sneak up on a lot of folks. Not, however, Toshi Shimada. The estimably great conductor and music director for the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is always thinking down the road, which is why he long-ago planned "American Rhapsody," Saturday's second performance of the ECSO season. As always, the event takes place in New London's Garde Arts Center.
"The concert happens a week before Thanksgiving," Shimada said in an interview earlier this fall, "and in that sense I wanted to do something American-related." And he delivered — in a big way. The program includes Pioneer Dances by 20th century composer Peggy Stuart Coolidge; Aaron Copland's "Our Town"; and Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite. Emotive, dramatic, and powerful stuff.
But the evening's centerpiece will be George Gershwin's immortal Rhapsody in Blue featuring guest soloist Lindsay Garritson on piano. Garritson has performed all over the world with the likes of the Phoenix Symphony, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra (Texas), Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica Barra Mansa (Brazil), the Yale Philharmonic Orchestra, and the European Philharmonic Orchestra — and we don't have the space to list the number of prizes she's won. It's safe to say her interpretation of Gershwin will be, well, rhapsodic.
The celebration lasts all weekend as, on Sunday, also in the Garde, the ECSO presents their annual Family Concert. Billed as "Carnival of the Animals," the event includes a collaborative effort with the Eastern Connecticut Ballet on Saint Saens' Carnival of the Animals — as well as Garritson and fellow piano virtuoso Gary Chapman performing. New London Poet Laureate Rhonda Ward will also read as part of the event.
"This will be the second Family Concert I've been a part of," Shimada said, "and I'm quite excited to work with the Eastern Connecticut Ballet and to have the opportunity to introduce young people to the magic of music and dance." In addition to the 2 p.m. performance, there will be a variety of fun activities, including a petting zoo, taking place in the Garde lobby at 1 p.m.
"American Rhapsody," the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m. Saturday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $28-$62 with selected $12 seats available to patrons under 30 and current or retired military personnel; gardearts.org, (860) 443-2876. "Carnival of Animals" Young Persons Concert, 2 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m. pre-concert activities, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; general admission $10 adults, $5 children; gardearts.org, (860) 443-2876.