Seven musicians will showcase their solo skills at the NRO’s 2024 season finale
Each season, National Repertory Orchestra musicians gather their nerve and their greatest displays of talent for the Concerto Competition. This summer, the skills were so widespread that not one, but seven winners were named. All will perform at the Season Finale concert this Saturday, Aug. 10. At 6 p.m., the concert begins with composer Thom Ritter George’s Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra, featuring NRO Bass Trombonist and concerto competition winner, Reid Harman.
Reid Harman, photo by Elaine Collins.
“Concertos for bass trombone are almost never performed. I think I’m the first bass trombonist to ever perform as a soloist with the NRO. I am incredibly thankful for the chance to champion my instrument like this,” says Harman, a Chicago native who graduated from Northwestern University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Masters at The Julliard School. “There is only one professional recording of the Ritter George Bass Trombone Concerto with orchestra that I know of, and I can guarantee that no one in the audience has heard a bass trombone concerto before, so I am looking forward to introducing another side of the trombone to the community.”
Following the trombone concerto, fellow concerto winner Juliyan Martinez will star in the first movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Martinez is also a student at The Julliard School, where he is a recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship.
Before the concert reaches its climax with a full orchestra rendition of Richard Strauss’ epic An Alpine Symphony, NRO horn players Lily Kern, Elizabeth Crafton, Catherine Dowd, James Picarello and Alex Daiker – all concerto competition winners – perform Robert Schumann’s Concertpiece for Four Horns and Orchestra.
James Picarello, by Elaine Collins.
“It’s really the pinnacle of all horn writing and isn’t programmed often,” Picarello, a Brooklyn, NY native and Julliard Bachelor graduate and Masters student says of the Schumann piece. “Solo performances are thrilling because you can witness a musician take risks in real time, almost like a figure skater or trapeze artist would. The experience can really take your breath away.”
“This is a special piece I’ve hoped to play at some point in my career, so it’s just awesome to have the opportunity with such talented colleagues,” says Dowd, a Texas native and second horn player with the San Antonio Philharmonic who holds a Bachelor of Music from West Virginia University and a Masters from the University of Cincinnati. “Concertos push us as musicians to greater heights we may not strive toward if we were limited to ensemble repertoire. To perform a solo takes a high level of detail and ownership of the art that we can then carry into all areas of playing. For the audience, they also get to enjoy artistry on display from a soloist which I think brings greater appreciation to the work of each musician on the stage.”
Catherine Dowd, photo by Elaine Collins.
“I’m proud of the fact that all of us worked hard to make it happen,” says Crafton, a Savannah, Georgia native
Elizabeth Crafton, photo by Elaine Collins.
and student at the Curtis Institute of Music. “Concertos add variety to performances. This final concert is special because there are three concertos. I think it’s enjoyable to listen to one instrument play the melody for an entire piece, and I also love hearing how the individual will make the piece their own.”
Kern, a native Texan and student at Northwestern University, agrees that three separate wind concertos is a highly unusual treat for an audience and that concertos in general are powerful and pivotal components of any orchestral performance because they “heighten the emotional impact, making the music feel more personal and moving for the audience … creating a more intimate experience.”
Lily Kern, photo by Elaine Collins.
While excited for her moment to shine on stage, she’s also looking forward to the truly grand finale of the concert and the 2024 NRO season.
“Ending the program with the Alpine Symphony is particularly exciting given our location, as it truly evokes the sensation of climbing a mountain,” she says. “Playing this piece in the mountains adds another layer of authenticity to the experience.”
Cheer on the concerto competition winners at the NRO’s Season Finale: Strauss Alpine Symphony. The performance begins at 6 p.m. at The Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge this Saturday,Aug. 10. Tickets start at $20 for adults and $5 for children.
PHOTOS: By Elaine Collins.