On Sunday afternoon, the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra Chamber groups performed in the Second Decade Society Room of the Mattin Center, playing various selections by Antonin Dvor??k, Francis Poulenc, Edouard Lalo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and GiuseppeVerdi. The atmosphere was light and informal, and the audience was a combination of about 50 locals and Hopkins students. It was an entertaining performance.
The JHU Flute Choir performed Symphony from the New World, No. 9, Opus 95 by Antonin Dvor??k as the first piece of the concert. The second flute ensemble consisted of five flutists, four females and one male, that performed Triumphal March from "Aida" by Giuseppe Verdi, a light and cheery processional song, very similar to music one would expect to hear from a carousel.
After the JHU Flute Choir, there were four more ensembles ranging from four to 11 musicians. The songs performed during these four performances were: Quartet No. 2 for Piano and Strings in g minor, Opus 45 by Gabriel F??ure; Symphonie Espagnole, Opus 21 by Edouard Lalo; Quintet for Piano and Winds in Eb Major, K. 452 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Suite Francaise by Francis Poulenc.
The performance for the Quartet No. 2 for Piano and Strings in g minor, Opus 45 was especially impressive. The group was made up of violinist Charlotte Chung, violist John Carter, cellist Tegan Machnich, and pianist Barbara Le Lievre Kemp. The precision with which they played was impeccable, never missing a beat, the executions of the variations of the songs very precise. The way in which they handled the crescendos and decrescendos in the piece were especially impressive, adding more liveliness and a sense of tragedy into the piece. Their passion for music was evident as each took turns to play solos. Barbara Le Lievre balanced the piece as the accompanist by using the lower octaves of the keyboard to create a dark, dramatic sound as the background, and then moved back to the center or higher octaves of the keyboard to create the rolling, melodic sounds of the piece.
Impressed by the group's performance, I was able to talk to Charlotte Chung, a freshman and the violinist in the quartet. She informed me that the group started practicing early this year in February, the rehearsals especially intensive during the last few days before the performance on Sunday. Her experiences with music started in Hong Kong at the early age of four. She trained at the Yip's Children's Music Center where she was a member of both the Hong Kong Children's Symphony and Choir, a largely concert-oriented musical group. She acted as the concert mistress for two years before coming to Johns Hopkins, and has played solo concerts in Hong Kong.
Musicians of her caliber seem to be what makes the Johns Hopkins Symphony Chamber Orchestra a good and cheap way to spend a Sunday afternoon by yourself or with a friend.
For those interested, there are more opportunities to hear the Hopkins Symphony Concerts within the upcoming Saturdays with performances including the Ballet Suite from "Billy the Kid" by Aaron Copland, and Requiem by Mozart.
