WSO to celebrate America’s 250th with ‘Red, White & Blue’ concert
If patriotic music stirs a sense of pride and reflection, the Washington Symphony Orchestra (WSO) will offer both during its “Red, White & Blue,” performances Saturday and Sunday at the Olin Fine Arts Center in Washington.
The concerts will serve as a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States.
Principal conductor and musical director Yugo Ikach said the program is designed to highlight shared values at a time when division often dominates the national conversation.
“You can look at articles from 150 years ago and see we’ve always been polarized,” Ikach said. “It’s better to look beyond that and be proud of what our country was based on.”
“That foundation – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – anchors the WSO’s theme. At this performance, we’re here to celebrate the good,” Ikach said.
A little something for everyone
The concert spans a wide range of American music traditions, from jazz and gospel, to folk-inspired favorites. The audience will hear everything from bluegrass, to John Philip Sousa marches, along with nods to composer Stephen Foster, who wrote more than 200 songs over the years, many of which are familiar standards like “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races.”
The performance will also feature music by Aaron Copland, who is often called “the dean of American composers.”
There will be reflective tributes to veterans as well. One such example is “Gardens of Stone,” an instrumental piece with a title drawn from the landscape of the Arlington National Cemetery. It serves as a musical tribute to those who served and others who never returned home.
While Ikach finds it difficult to pick a favorite, he points to “Hoedown” from Copland’s ballet “Rodeo” as a standout.
“It’s funny, exciting, exuberant and full of life,” he said. “It’s also quintessentially American. You can’t hear it without picturing the Wild West.”
Audiences can also look forward to singalongs with all-American music like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “God Bless America.”
A unique approach
The success of the WSO is based on its ability to attract a broad audience, including some who may not typically gravitate towards orchestral music.
For Ikach, that means a blend of old and new at times. “We can go from Beethoven to Pee Wee Herman in a heartbeat,” said Ikach with a laugh, adding that it’s almost more show, than concert. “And we have fun while we do it.”
The approach has worked-a recent sold-out performance drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 attendees.
Ikach understands the importance of keeping his finger on the pulse of contemporary society. “The arts mirror society and you have to make things relevant to what is trending today,” he said.
Ikach said that the WSO has played full-length symphonies in the past, but shifting to a mixture of old and new has worked out well.
“We play a lot of movie themes now-people love that. If we do classical music exclusively; we’ll be seen as being stuck in the 19th century,” Ikach said. “We may have a little of that, interspersed with say Jimmy Buffet or the Beach Boys to show we can have a little fun and not be so serious.”
Ikach views the performances like vaudeville.
“If you don’t like one thing, you may like a dog act which follows. If one piece doesn’t float your boat, the next one may bring you to tears in a good way,” he said, adding that narration and historical context help audiences engage more deeply.
“The more complex the music is, the more helpful it is to understand it,” noted Ikach.
Ultimately, he explained, the goal is simple: “If people leave thinking about our country or our music in a new way, then that’s what I consider a success,” he said.
To see more of the WSO, a summer performance away has just been announced and will take place at the StageWEST Arts Collective in Deep Creek, Md. on June 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Showtimes for “Red, White & Blue” are 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. For information, go online to washsym.org or call 412-512-1662.