Outer Banks Forum Tradition
For almost 25 years the Outer Banks Forum has been bringing music to the Outer Banks. Over that time a few traditions have evolved. One of those is closing out the season with the Virginia Symphony.
That's a tradition that we really hope continues and since they're already booked the Symphony for April 28, 2018 it looks as though it's good for one more year at least.
Saturday evening's concert at First Flight High School was magic. The musical selections were outstanding. There was almost a cohesion to them; they seemed to make sense when grouped together.
Virginia Symphony Performance
The musicians themselves were absolutely amazing, which is to be expected from a professional orchestra. Still, they exceeded expectations.
And the conductor—Benjamin Rous...an absolute delight. Funny, informative and animated he kept the audience involved and interested.
He began by informing everyone that just 14 minutes ago he had been on the beach, talking to some bikers from western North Carolina. He wondered out loud about some of the names of local restaurants, and seemed particularly puzzled by Biscuits and Porn.
But mostly, he did a great job of explaining what was happening with the music.
It's hard to pick out a favorite from the selections that were performed. There were some Brahms pieces that were challenging and wonderful to listen to. Two Sousa marches were performed—Thunderer March and Hands Across the Sea. And they were performed really well.
But a favorite? That's difficult to say.
Princess Leia's Theme by John Williams was so beautiful as it painted a musical picture of yearning for something unattainable. The Spiderman theme was a surprising choice and very effective.
And then there was the audience participation at the end with Rous conducting the symphony as he also conducted the audience telling us to not clap at all, clap softly or clap as loud as we could.
A lot of fun and it made for a wonderful evening of music.
