Review: Symphony puts ‘pow’ in patriotic program

Were those bombs bursting in the air Friday night over the Holland Performing Arts Center?

Nah, it was just the Omaha Symphony’s large percussion section, whacking away at nearly two hours worth of patriotic songs.

For its first pops concert of the 2009-10 season, the symphony under guest conductor Michael Krajewski presented a program called “Patriotic Celebration.”

The performance, which will be repeated tonight and Sunday afternoon, is a real flag-waving sonic extravaganza that includes just about everything except an F-16 flyover.

But even without sonic booms and afterburners, this is a performance designed to make a lot of noise.

The musical arrangements call for a Wagner-sized orchestra complete with four percussionists, timpani, harp, strings, woodwinds and brass. Two large choruses — the UNO Concert Choir and Omaha Symphonic Chorus — add their round, resonant voices to the mix. There are also three vocal soloists: Max Quinlan, Zachary Prince and Mark Willett.

The program itself is the musical equivalent of a giant, omnibus Defense Department spending bill. It not only includes selections intended to satisfy every constituency but also strange juxtapositions of songs and medleys.

For instance, the orchestra played the themes of the five military branches with enough spit and polish to make a Marine Corps drill sergeant snap to attention. It then followed with a selection of peace songs that included, among other things, the John Lennon anthem “Give Peace a Chance.”

Similarly, sparkling virtuoso orchestra arrangements of Morton Gould’s “American Salute” and Leonard Bernstein’s “America” were followed with saccharine, flag-on-the-sleeve renditions of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” and Barry Manilow’s “Let Freedom Ring.”

It was a real mishmash. Yet there was also much to admire in this program.

Friday’s concert opened with a glistening and heroic reading of John Williams’ “Liberty” and continued with a sincere and emotional performance of the national anthem, for which we all stood in time-honored tradition.

A selection of George Gershwin’s patriotic Tin Pan Alley tunes — “Strike Up the Band,” “Love Is Sweeping the Country” and “Of Thee I Sing” — sounded overly weighty with the huge orchestra and chorus. These are songs that needed to snap and crackle.

But the orchestra quickly turned around with joyous and enthusiastic readings of George Cohan’s “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Several of Irving Berlin’s popular soldier songs — “Over There,” “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” and “This Is the Army, Mr. Jones” — were likewise performed with energy and humor.

The revelation of the evening was Willett, whose flexible voice easily covered two octaves. He made a lasting impression in “Momma, Look Sharp,” from the musical “1776,” delivering his heart-rending lines with a vaporous falsetto.

The choruses, for their parts, distinguished themselves with their powerful, passionate performances.

Contact the writer:

444-1076, john.pitcher@owh.com

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