Copious Notes

Amanda Balltrip, shown as Ann Rutledge in October's "River of Time," has never left the Kentucky District Round of the Met Auditions empty handed. She'll compete again Saturday. Photo by Rich Copley.

Usually singers in the Kentucky District round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions have a 1-in-5, maybe 1-in-4 chance of advancing to the next round. This year, it’s more like 1-in-9.

Maybe it’s some sort of anniversary karma because this will be the 10th year the Kentucky District auditions have been contested in Memorial Hall, but regardless of the cosmic reasons, the fact is 28 singers are going to give it a shot Saturday.

Reginald Smith Jr., 21, will compete in the Met Auditions for the first time, Saturday. Nick Provenzale, foreground, is also in the field of 28. Photo by Rich Copley.

We don’t know a lot of these singers, as they hail from Indiana, Cincinnati and even as far off as New York and Chicago. But in the midst of them is a veritible all-star team of University of Kentucky singers we know very well, including virtually all the leads in October’s world premier production of Joseph Baber’s “River of Time.”

And over 10 years, UK has developed a strong record of sending people who come into town looking for an easy win home empty handed. Certainly any of the voices judges will hear could break through to the regional round in Indianapolis, but here are a couple of locals and one well-known visitor worth watching:

Amanda Balltrip — She has never left a Met Auditions empty handed. Her first two years she won the encouragement award and last year she broke through to the regionals. Clearly a variety of judges have liked what this 24-year-old soprano does, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see her finish in the money again.

Former UK student Afton Battle, the last UK student to advance to the national rounds of the Met Auditions, will be competing Saturday. Photo by Tim Collins.

Reginald Smith Jr. — Since 2000, when 21-year old Asbury College tenor Norman Reinhardt won the first Met Auditions at Memorial Hall, Lexington fans have understood the Met likes to get singers young. Since he appeared as the baritone soloist in George Zack’s final “Messiah” in 2007, 21-year-old Smith has been knocking local music fans out with his massive voice. Given his age, if he has a similar effect on the judges, it’s easy to imagine him advancing to Indy.

Afton Battle — Speaking of massive voices, Battle was the last UK singer to advance from the Kentucky Districts to New York, where she competed in the national semifinals. A former student of late UK voice professor Gail Robinson, Battle has moved on to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. But she’s returned to Kentucky to take another shot at the Met, and Lexington could easily be the first of several steps for her, again.

Of course, there are 25 other singers in the field, and one thing that was striking last year was the vastly improved quality of the Kentucky District field over the years. So, regardless of who wins, it should be a great day for the audience.

HorseMania 2010 isn’t the only equine-related art project that will ride again during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. ­Horsetails, a project that the ­Lexington Philharmonic first ­orchestrated in 2003 and repeated the next three years, is returning to coincide with next year’s big event.

Big Brown by Peter Williams.

The public can get a look at the pieces for this year’s event starting Tuesday morning, when the Horsetails 2010 website is launched.

The idea behind Horsetails is to highlight the link between classical music and horses: Hair from horses’ tails is used in the bows of string ­instruments. The artworks in Horsetails use hair from the tails of famous horses including Big Brown, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones. Showpieces are by many local notable artists, including ­Lucinda Alston Chapman, ­Federico Pizzurro and Gary R. Bibbs.

All 54 pieces will have a premiere exhibition in April at L.V. Harkness and will be shown at other locations in and beyond Central Kentucky from April until WEG, Sept. 25 to Oct. 10. The pieces will be auctioned off during the games, with proceeds benefitting Partners in Education, a program that supports music education.

Lexington Philharmonic music director Scott Terrell conducts a combined rehearsal of the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras' symphony orchestra and the Philharmonic Oct. 19. CKYO director Kayoko Dan stands at the back of the orchestra, in a black blouse. Photos by Matt Goins.

When I moved to Lexington in 1998, one thing that immediately struck me about the ­local arts scene was the prominence of children and organizations geared toward children.

The Lexington Children’s Theatre’s shows rated the same sort of attention as productions at Actors Guild of Lexington and other area stages.

The Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras’ events and personnel moves were prominent news. There were two institutions - the Explorium (then, the Lexington Children’s Museum) and the Living Arts and Science Center - geared toward children’s arts, particularly visual arts.

The School for Creative and Performing Arts had a prominent place in town, but there were stage, art and music programs at other schools also producing talented graduates who went on to arts careers.

Children’s Health magazine recently ranked Lexington No. 6 on its list of the 100 best places to raise a family. The criteria included crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions and health.

I’d be willing to bet that if someone wanted to rank best places to be an artsy kid, Lexington would rate high on that list, too. By virtue of what is offered, we tell our children that the arts are something to do and be respected for doing.

Students Madelyn Nelson, left, Sara Arthur-Paratley, and Mary Rollins-Mathews rehearsed with the Lexington Ballet on Monday in preparation for Youth Arts Day.

The Lexington Philharmonic, the Horse Capitol of the World’s flagship arts organization, will celebrate young artists with its Youth Arts Day family concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Singletary Center for the Arts. It will include young singers from SCAPA, Fayette County Public Schools and the School of the Lexington Ballet.

The prominence of youth-oriented groups here is quite a bit more than other communities that I have lived in or observed. Over the nearly 12 years since I arrived, it has become clear that a big reason for that is quality.

Take the Children’s Theatre: In a town that has struggled with the concept of professional theater for adults, the Lexington Children’s Theatre has established itself with its own building on Short Street and a professional staff, including actors. What’s more, Larry and Vivian Snipes have developed a national reputation for the theater by being a venue that presents and creates new work. And the primary beneficiaries are kids.

And it really wasn’t terribly surprising that when the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras went looking for a new music director at the same time that the Lexington Philharmonic was trying to fill a similar job, it ended up attracting and hiring Kayoko Dan, also a candidate for the Philharmonic post.

CKYO has graduated numerous professional musicians, including Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist Nathan Cole and hard-to-categorize cello soloist Ben Sollee.

Outside of groups directly geared toward kids, Lexington arts groups have been generous to kids.
Look at Paragon Music Theatre, which routinely loads the stage with kids, including Hello Dolly! this weekend, and even makes a place for them in its cabaret shows.

During years without a professional company, the Lexington Ballet featured its students in productions, and it and Kentucky Ballet Theatre, which has always had a pro troupe, always find ways to present students. Former Ballet Theatre dancer Adalhi Aranda Corn saw such value in Central Kentucky’s young artists she left and formed Bluegrass Youth Ballet and eventually built CulturArte, an arts facility that acommodates a variety of disciplines.

Possibly one of the biggest statements about valuing student artists was when the Lexington Singers’ ­Children’s Chorus was invited to perform in the Our Lincoln performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington in February.

And now LexArts has formed a Youth Arts Council to help focus young artists in the area.

Clarinetists Andrew Burton, 14, left, of the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras and Mike Acord of the Philharmonic rehearsed together Monday.

Full disclosure: My children have participated in some of these groups, and one is in the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, although not the ensemble performing Sunday with the Lexington Philharmonic.

In addition, I’ve gotten to know many other kids who participate in groups. Maybe the most important thing these groups engender is enthusiasm for the arts they are participating in. I hear spirited discussions about play rehearsal and genuine interest in Bach sonatas.

Like anything, Lexington’s youth arts scene isn’t perfect. I remain baffled, for instance, why SCAPA does not have a theater of its own. Then again, SCAPA regularly solves that problem by putting its kids on stages usually graced by adults and pros.

It occurred to me as I left a CKYO rehearsal last week with my daughter that by virtue of her participation in the orchestra, she’s on the University of Kentucky campus every week. Most of us didn’t get used to being on a college campus until we had enrolled.

That’s just one of many ways that through our youth arts, regardless of whether the students pursue arts careers, by supporting such substantial programs, we’re preparing our kids for the rest of their lives.

Ronan Tynan has recorded a lot of classical and pop hits. He may want to consider adding the Pink Floyd song One Slip to his repertoire, because an offhanded anti-Semitic remark is costing him dearly.

Ronan Tynan. 2007 AP photo by Don Heupel.

The tenor, a mainstay at New York Yankee games who performed at the Singletary Center with the Lexington Philharmonic Oct. 10, was with a real estate agent showing an apartment building when the incident occurred. According to the New York Times, the real estate agent joked to Tynan that the prospective tennant, New York University physician Gabrielle Gold-Von Simson, was not a Boston Red Sox fan.

Tynan’s shocking reply: “I don’t care about that, as long as they are not Jewish.”

Gold-Von Simson contacted the Yankees, who in turn contacted Tynan. As soon as Tynan admitted the remark, Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Tynan was disinvited from singing at Friday night’s opening game of the American League Championship Series and will not perform again at Yankee Stadium this season. The Yankees are one of four teams remaining in the hunt for a World Series championship, this year.

Since games following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, it has been a tradition for Tynan to sing his distinctive rendition of God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch at post-season games and other special games at Yankee Stadium.

In Saturday’s Irish Times, Tynan said he was distraught, and that his offhanded comment about some other prospective tenants was misunderstood. He told the paper the roots of the comment were in a visit by other potential residents three weeks before:

“Two Jewish ladies were coming to view it and the agent said, ‘They are very particular’. And I said, ‘I don’t know how they will deal with having a singer beside them, practicing all the time. That could be scary.’ We laughed about it.”

According to the Irish paper, his snappy reply was, “At least they’re not the Jewish ladies.”

Tynan, a Kilkenny, Ireland native, told the paper he has never been anti-Semitic and that three members of his band are Jewish. According to the Yankees spokesman, Tynan did call the doctor and apologize to her satisfaction. He also made a contribution to a charity of her choice: KiDs of NYU, an organization that supports children’s health services at the university’s Langone Medical Center.

Tynan also apologized to Major League Baseball Saturday, telling the Associated Press, in part, “Several days ago I made a joke that was insensitive. My attempt at humor was inappropriate and hurtful to the person who heard it.”

Still, the comment has cost Tynan his treasured Yankees gig for this season. The Yankees say he may be invited back in future seasons.

Other impacts to Tynan’s career remain to be seen.

Cellist Joshua Roman rehearses with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and Maestro Scott Terrell on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Click the play button to hear a podcast of our interview with Joshua Roman:

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra may have bigger named soloists its schedule this season, but that may only be temporary.

At 25, cellist Joshua Roman already has some big credits on his resume, including being the only soloist during the YouTube Symphony Orchestra presentation, becoming the Seattle Symphony’s principal cellist at age 22, and being named artist of the month by Musical America magazine in August.

We caught up with Roman back stage after a rehearsal to talk about things like being called a “classical rock star” for our story in today’s Weekender and the podcast, above.

Scott and guest soloist Evelyn Glennie head for the pre-concert chat in the President's Room in the Singletary Center for the Arts.

Photographer Matt Goins shot a lot more pictures of Scott Terrell preparing for his first masterclassics concert as the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director than we could get in Saturday’s paper. But here at le blog, where we have unlimited space (the webmaster may beg to differ), Matt is letting us share a few more photos from last week’s exhilirating season opener.

A phew more Phil photos also pheels like a phun way to celebrate Copious Notes’ 1,500th post. (I just toasted the occasion with a Carmilla at Coffea. Woo-hoo.)

Terrell leads the pre-show chat.

Terrell and Glennie take some questions.

Terrell straightens his tie.

Terrell goes over the score in his dressing room before taking the stage.

On the podium, in command of the orchestra.

More coverage:

• Loren Tice’s concert review.
• Coverage of opening night.
• Evelyn Glennie travels light.
• Terrell ready to go.

Lauren Tenney (left, front), Meredith Dunlevy (back, left), Megan Jacobs (right, front) and Ashley Wilcock (back, right) dance while cellist Peter Kucirko plays a sonata by J.S. Bach in a rehearsal of a new piece which will be performed as part of the company's season-opening concert, Sept. 18. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

The Lexington Philharmonic and Lexington Ballet are teaming up to sell tickets to their season premieres for one price.

Scott Terrell. Photo by David Stephenson | LexGo.com.

Both the Ballet’s Sept. 17 and 18 Fabric of Dance performance and the Phil’s Sept. 25 MasterClassics concert are big debuts: the ballet unveiling its new professional performing company and the Phil’s new music director Scott Terrell opening his inaugural season with guest Evelyn Glennie, the most famous percussion soloist in the world.

The organizations are selling a combined ticket for $60. Individual tickets are $20-$35 for the ballet and $40-$100 for the Philharmonic. Call (859) 233-4226.

Alltech announced the lineup for its 16-day Fortnight Festival Sept. 25-Oct. 10. Like last year, the event will kick off with a country concert at Applebee’s Park and feature performances around the state, many of which are associated with series by other venues and organizations.

Unlike last year, the event is confined to just over two weeks. Sept. 25 is significant as it will mark exactly one year until the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The lineup is:

• 

  Ricky Skaggs performs in Ashland Oct. 8 and Owensboro Oct. 10.

  Sept. 25 - Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert, Applebee’s Park, Lexington

• Sept. 26 - Bettye LaVette, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington
• Sept. 26-27 - Beguiled Again by Actors Guild of Lexington, Downtown Arts Center, Lexington
• Sept. 28 - Fairplay Collective, Downtown Arts Center, Lexington
• Sept. 29 - Singer/Songwriter Night, Downtown Arts Center, Lexington
• Sept. 30 - Marc Smith Poetry Slam, Downtown Arts Center, Lexington
• Oct. 1 - Makem & Spain Brothers, Lexington Opera House, Lexington
• Oct. 2 - Mary Chapin Carpenter, Equus Run Vineyard, Midway
• Oct. 3 - 38 Special & Kansas, Murray State University Regional Special Events Center, Murray
• Oct. 6 - The Decemberists, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington
• Oct. 6-7 - Battle of the Bluegrass, Tin Roof, Lexington
• Oct. 8 - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Paramount Arts Center, Ashland
• Oct. 9 - John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful, Grand Theatre, Frankfort
• Oct. 10 - String Band Day, Appalshop, Whitesburg
• Oct. 10 - Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, RiverPark Center, Owensboro
• Oct. 10 - Ronan Tynan with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington

Visit the Alltech website for tickets to each event.

Some people may have looked at today’s Opinions | Ideas section of the Herald-Leader and thought it was a bad morning for the arts, and the Lexington Philharmonic in particular. The Sunday letters to the editor devoted a section to six letters about Fourth of July activities, three complaining that the Lexington Philharmonic’s patriotic concert on July 3rd was not patriotic enough.

Scott Terrell's Philharmonic debut got mixed reviews, but it was good to see passionate debate about the arts. Photo by Mark Cornelision | Herald-Leader.

The concert also happened to be Scott Terrell’s debut conducting the orchestra since being named its music director in April.

“Abandoning old favorites like Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1812 Overture and God Bless America, Terrell chose to include selections like Mission Impossible,” Lindy Karns of Lexington wrote. “There are an insufficient number of opportunities to listen to the performance of songs that make us proud to be Americans.”

Listening to the concert, I wondered if there would be people that found it lacking in patriotic anthems that we so commonly associate with the Fourth of July, and even thought some Broadway tunes such as, say, America from West Side Story — which I saw performed by the Broadway revival cast on NBC’s Fourth celebration — or selections from The Music Man might have gone over better than My Fair Lady and Chicago.

But I also saw the point that we as Americans should be proud that our country has produced original art forms such as musical theater and movie music and given the world classic composers such as Lerner and Loewe and Henry Mancini.

We often cede classical music to Europeans, ignoring great American composers such as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein and others. I liked that Terrell included John Williams’ Olympic music, highlighting another great American talent too often written off as just a film composer, and his inclusion of Leroy Anderson, an American composer championed by Terrell’s predecessor, George Zack.

But the broader point is that I loved seeing four letters to the editor — one from Kevin C. Brown of Lexington praised the program saying Terrell, “managed to breathe new life into the traditional program”  — about a concert, from relatively informed people debating the merits of the program with obvious passion.

It’s also something we’ve seen lately in comments and some letters to the editor about LexArts’ decision not to fund Actors Guild of Lexington for the next fiscal year.

I think I sometimes surprise people who call or write to complain about a story I’ve written when I invite them to write a letter to the editor. No, it is never fun to read someone complaining about you. But I love it when people take time to sit down and write about the arts. It says this is important stuff, and it is worth the time to express an opinion, even if it happens to be critical. Hey, by taking the time to criticize, you are saying, I think this can be better, and it is important to me to weigh in on it.

It can’t all be politics and UK sports, people.

And really, in this increasingly interactive world, it is more important than ever that people pipe up and show the arts are something we consider worthy of debate and comment.

So, keep those cards and letters and emails and comments coming. It’s all good.

Scott Terrell conducts the Lexington Philharmonic in the orchestra's annual Patriotic Concert at Transylvania University. The concert was also his debut as music director of the orchestra. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Herald-Leader.

Click here to see more photos from Friday’s Patriotic Concert.

Scott Terrell said he liked the view from the stage in front of the Old Morrison Building at Transylvania University. When he looked one way, he saw his new orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic. When he turned around, he saw his new town, or what must have looked like the whole town, from that perch.

The crowd for the Patriotic Concert the Philharmonic presents ever July 3 stretched from the steps of Old Morrison back across the lawn and over Third Street through Gratz Park almost to the back steps of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Our own Tom Eblen, a veteran Patriotic Concert fan, guessed the audience was almost twice as large as the typical crowd for this event.

That makes sense, as it wasn’t a typical Patriotic Concert.

It was the debut of Scott Terrell as the Phil’s music director — his first concert conducting the orchestra since he was named to that post in April.

Whether it was that or the perfect night that drew people out, it was a truly big debut that showed Terrell had some good instincts.

Conventional wisdom would have had him waiting for his first bow in September when the Philharmonic opens its Masterclassics season at the Singletary Center for the Arts.

Thing is, you couldn’t fit this audience in a couple of Singletarys.

By taking the baton Friday night, he got in front of one of the Phil’s biggest audiences of the year for a concert that sent a few messages.

~ Masterclassics aren’t the only thing. Terrell has talked about reviving the Phil’s pops series and introducing other concerts and series in coming seasons. That he chose to debut with this concert and obviously put some thought into it says he’s serious about broadening the orchestra’s profile.

~ Get ready for some new ideas about repertoire. Friday night’s concert had some of the staples of the event, including a tribute to the Armed Forces and the “get out your sparklers” rendition of Stars-and-Stripes Forever. He also got to conduct My Old Kentucky Home for the first time, and complimented the “mass choir” of the audience joining the Lexington Singers for the state song.

But Terrell wanted to make it about the broader concept of American music, so he added a selection of traditional melodies, showtunes and movie themes.

My favorite moment of people watching came during All That Jazz, from Chicago, when near the front of the stage, a little girl was dancing with abandon while, a few yards behind her, a senior couple was walking in rhythm, as if they were about to cut a rug — or lawn, as the case would be.

Exploring American music for the Fourth is an interesting idea, and it could yield some intriguing programs in the future. I did hear that some people wanted a concert more in line with the traditional Fourth evening of patriotic standards. The audience immediately around me, near the front of the stage, seemed to enjoy the program. Just as Lexington will spend the next season hearing Terrell’s ideas, Terrell will certainly spend the next season — and beyond — hearing audience feedback.

One note: It was cool he included Leroy Anderson’s Blue Tango, as Anderson was a favorite of Terrell’s predecessor, George Zack.

Speaking of Zack . . .

~ Terrell is ready to embrace the role of “Face of the Philhamonic.” Replacing such an iconic figure in Lexington arts, Zack’s successor needed to be ready to step forward in a PR role as well as musical role. Terrell seems ready for that, picking a debut concert that had him talking to the audience quite a bit.  And by picking this concert, Terrell chose a venue that would put him center-stage before one of the orchestra’s biggest audiences.

And he seemed to have a great time, a big time — big gestures, big eyes and a big smile on the podium.

That would be the podium where he saw his orchestra and his audience, and we got out first good look at the Philharmonic’s future.

Friday’s concert will be repeated Saturday night in Versailles.

Comment: What did you think of the program?