Written by Steven Chandler
The phrase, “The show must go on,” was very much the case for Moscow’s Chamber Orchestra Kremlin’s performance on Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Administration Auditorium. Despite the fact that campus had been closed since Monday afternoon due to snow, the Tuesday evening concert continued as planned.
The Chamber Orchestra Kremlin is currently on tour in the U.S.. On Monday, Feb. 8, the group performed in Ruston, La., at Louisiana Tech University and also performed in Pittsburg, Kan. at Pittsburgh State University on Wednesday, Feb. 10, the day after their Harding performance.
“I considered closing it since schools were closed, but we knew that we couldn’t reschedule it so I called David Burks to get permission,” Dr. Cliff Ganus III said.
Ganus was determined that the concert could not be rescheduled for another day due to tour obligations. Actions were taken to place an announcement on Pipeline and to contact local radio stations to alert people that the concert was still on.
Not all performances could be salvaged though. The Chamber Orchestra Kremlin had an outreach performance scheduled for Searcy High School Tuesday morning which was cancelled along with Searcy High’s classes.
The snow may have affected the turnout; however, there was at least a small turnout guaranteed for this Classical Lyceum Series performance: music majors. All music majors are required to attend lyceum performances by their music forum class. Also, depending on teachers, some music appreciation classes offer extra credit for attending these performances.
“I was really expecting a larger audience for this because they [Chamber Orchestra Kremlin] are a class act,” Ganus said. “They have performed in many major venues throughout the world.”
Ganus estimated attendance to be between 200 and 250 whereas Di Wu had over 400 people at her piano performance in late January. However, Ganus was not the only one to have hopes for a bigger audience. Senior music major Matt Parks shared Ganus’ sentiment concerning attendance turnout.
“I was disappointed in the turnout because it was an internationally renowned group and they were by far the best string orchestra I’ve ever heard,” Parks said. “Tchaikovsky’s evocative serenade to strings encouraged my enthusiasm for this underappreciated art form.”
Brandon Ragsdale, a junior music major, was also very impressed by the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin’s performance.
“Initially I didn’t want to go to the concert because of our day off,” Ragsdale said. “But I was glad that I went anyway because one of their pieces was a Shostakovich piece that I had never heard before, and it was one of the most emotional pieces I have ever heard. They were so precise in the way they played, when I closed my eyes, they sounded like a recording.”
Although the snow and ice provided an excuse for many to not attend the concert, those attendees were glad they did.
“I was glad that the performance continued as scheduled, despite the snow,” Parks said. “It just goes to show you, snow news is good news for the Russians.”
