Engaging an audience with music

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The sounds of Bach, Bartók, Mozart and others filled the Friedberg JCC the evening of Feb. 4, when the Nassau Philharmonia brought “A Winter Concert” to Oceanside.

Conductor Douglas Hoppe said the ideas for the featured pieces came from parts of his life.

Bartók’s Romanian folk dances were chosen because his wife is Hungarian, he met her when he was in Hungary. In addition Hoppe said Bartók was the first ethnomuciologist, who studied non-traditional music of various cultures. Bartók traveled in the region and made phonograph recordings of gypsies, local musicians and singers, and included that music in his works.

To show off the woodwind section Hoppe chose excerpts from Bach’s Orchestrial Suite 1, which is a challenge for oboes and bassoons.

“The musicians were great doctoral students from Stony Brook University,” Hoppe said.

When two soloists dropped out of the concert, Hoppe added Wilhelmj’s arrangement of Bach’s Air on the G String from the 2nd movement of the Bach’s third Orchestral Suite, which is played on the lowest strong on the violin.

Hoppe wanted to show off the talents of Daniel Carlo, a doctoral student at Stony Brook, with Bach’s Orchestrial Suite No. 2. Carlo holds a Master’s Degree in flute performance.

Other pieces included Pavane by Gabriel Fauré, Ein Jäger aus Kurpfalz, by Paul Hinesmith, and Symphony No. 40 in g minor by Mozart.

Hoppe said he conducted all of these pieces when he was a student.

After his acceptance to Yale Hoppe was very involved in the music community in undergraduate and graduate ensembles, also founding and running a chamber orchestra and chorus. Hoppe interned at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and studied at the Aspen Music Festival and the Accademia Chgiana in Siena, Italy. Hoppe studied with professors from Julliard, MSM, Mannes, and NYU, and moved to Budapest Hungary to study with faculty from the Liszt Academy of Music.

When asked in an interview why he became a conductor Hoppe said, “I started out in High School conducting sectional in the Oceanside Marching Band. Conducting is my mind moving my hands, driving sonic energy.”

Other Phlharmonica members include Sally Shottock, Flute, lIsbeth Licht Wolgel, musical theatre, Bryan Wysocki, composition and performance, Rebekah Geiselman, performance, Colton Cox, freelancer and Julie Lyon, jazz singer and composition arranger.

Hoppe describes the Philharmonia as a community of music lovers serviing Nassau County and the surrounding areas.

The Philharmonia’s is looking for more members. Interested musicians and volunteers can apply at http://www.nassauphilharmonia.org/audition.html.