Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s opening Chamber concert “Beloved Baroque” is a magnet for many to indulge in the rich charm of early music masterworks that stir the soul and lift the heart. But, as MSO proves yet again on September 7 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral, there’s always something new to bring to the table.
Acclaimed viola da gambist Lisa Terry returns to her native Jackson and to the MSO stage for this concert, bringing with her a work that heightens Marin Marais’ Couplets de Folies d’Espagne with orchestral accompaniment and that Jackson audiences will be the first to hear.
Marin, a famous viola da gamba player in the court of Louis XIV, wrote a ton of music — opera, chamber and viola da gamba works, as well as this one for just two instruments with a soloist and accompanist. Terry hired friend/fellow viola da gambist/orchestrator Brady Lanier to take the accompaniment and turn it into an orchestra piece, so it works more like a concerto.
“It’s a wonderful arrangement, and I think it’s going to come off great,” Terry said. “The piece itself, I have played my entire career. I think I played it first in 1979, so I know the solo part really well, and I know the continuo really well. But this orchestration for the Mississippi Symphony — that’s a brand new thing and they’re going to be the first ones to ever play it.”
Terry has connections to MSO present (her sister, English horn player Linda Naef) and past (as a young cello player when the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, as it was then known, was a community orchestra of professional musicians and amateurs).
The viola da gamba, which developed from the lute family, captured her curiosity in college. “I always like to try new things,” she said. “I happened to hear one of my professors playing a viola da gamba, and thought it sounded so beautiful.… When I played it, I fell in love with it because so many things about it were different to me,” such as the animal gut strings, cool frets, underhand bow grip and between-the-legs hold. “Just everything about it felt unusual and cool and lovely, and it just made me a little bit different from everybody else. So, it made me feel good.” She fell in love, too, with the Renaissance and Baroque era music and that became her specialty.
Terry, who also hopes to work with students while in Jackson, says that with the viola da gamba, one can expect a big sound difference. “My instrument is quieter, it’s more resonant right around where I’m sitting, and not so resonant out into the hall. So, it’s going to be a quieter experience…. but, the music itself is really fancy, with lots of rapid notes and lots of hopping around from low to high.” So, tune in and delight in the big chords she plays plus MSO’s tasteful accompaniment.
Also new on the scene at “Beloved Baroque” is Principal Trumpet Davan Sagara, a Hawaii native and Eastman School of Music grad who will open and close the evening with solos in Giuseppe Torelli’s Sinfonia in D Major, G. 14 and Sinfonia in D Major, G. 3.
Sagara says music was ever present from the start in Pearl City, just north of Pearl Harbor, “My dad plays the ukulele and would sing to me when I was a baby. I joined in once I figured out how to use my voice.” In public school, he learned about native Hawaiian instruments, the recorder, and piano, as well as hula, Hawaiian songs and chants, and Western songs. “This made my decision to start learning the trumpet feel less foreign and I was excited to do so!” he said, adding that his grandpa and uncle used to play. They had their trumpet laying around and, although he wasn’t specifically drawn to the instrument, he’s glad he made it his own and described it as “the most interesting, exciting and soulful instrument to play.”
“My favorite thing is that it can play all types of genres – from classical, to jazz, to rock, and even the military.” With no shortage of interesting music to hear and play, he shared, “It also means I have a vast palette of music colors I can try to incorporate into my playing.” Once he found out he could play music for a living, “It was a no brainer” that he’d pursue it as a career.
The summer of 2023 was pivotal, with his acceptance into the professional training program at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. “It was a perfect transition between being a student that mostly played in school, to the ‘real world’ playing for the public. This was also the time I started taking professional auditions, and finally landed here in Mississippi!”
He loves teaching, as well as playing, and plans to offer lessons in Mississippi once he gets settled. Looking forward to meeting his symphony colleagues, he is eager to experience performing with players from all around the country together in one united orchestra. Sagara’s solo spotlight in the season’s first concert finds him grateful, a bit surprised, and eager to play a famous trumpet solo. “I’m excited to be playing it with the full orchestra after years of working on it in the practice room by myself.”
Sagara loves to meet new people, so feel free to come chat and share thoughts after the concert. “I always like to hear what the concerts are like on the other side of the bell.”
MSO’s “Beloved Baroque” comes packed with even more appeal, including Antonio Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto No. 1 “La Tempesta di mare” featuring soloist Amulet Strange, Pietro Locatelli’s Concerto Grosso No. 5 and Giuseppe Valentini’s Concerto Grosso No. 11.
All in all, it promises a spectacular start to another spectacular season.