Odessa American, April 27, 2007

Lone Star Brass concert showcases Odessa composer
BY RONALD BENNETT
Special to the Odessa American

I had been looking forward to Sunday afternoon.

I always look forward to a Lone Star Brass concert, but "Music across 300 years-from 1707 to 2007!" was one in which I was particularly interested. I will tell you why later.

The First United Methodist Church in Odessa is a very "live" venue for the brass, and they take full advantage of it.

The group is Michael Santorelli, trumpet, Eric Baker, trumpet, Jeff Osborn, horn, Michael Frisco, trombone and Kevin Young, tuba.

They began with a piece written about 1707 by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Toccata and Fugue in d minor. The opening of the Toccata is one of the world's most famous musical passages. It is most familiarly heard played on the organ with great flourishes of sound descending to a great shuddering pedal note held while a diminished seventh chord rises intensely to a thundering D major chord. This passage has been used in many popular settings: movies, rock music and video games. People like to play it and people like to hear it.

To this fossilized listener when they played the opening passage with its descending flourishes--ending with a low note on the tuba--I found it comical!

After the opening phrases it was a very exciting, well-performed and demanding piece wherein they exhibited their ability to play Bach in all his contrapuntal glory!

The second selection was the Quintet No. 2 by Victor Ewald. He, like many Russian composers, was a civil employee by day and a composer by night.

This composition is definitely one in which lush, romantic harmonies, interspersed by chromatic passing tones create a sound representative of those late 19th century composers that fill up the pages of biographical dictionaries. The overall effect was that it was innocuous music, music that could be played in an upscale restaurant and would be totally in character.

By now you get the idea that I was not enamored of everything I heard. But there was the second half of the concert. And what a second act! It opened with a piece written in 2004, the Fire Dance of Anthony Dilorenzo, a member of the Center City Brass Quintet. It was a spectacular, well conceived and well-developed example of contemporary writing. I found it exciting, engaging and engrossing. There was an electric charge in the air when they sounded the last note.

I was particularly looking forward to this concert because it was the world premiere of Music for Brass (2007) written by Odessa native Gilbert Galindo.

I was very interested in hearing a piece played by a composer who is the perfect example of how a community can nourish a fine young musician to good advantage. Assuming that we already know there is talent, intelligence and dedication what does it take for a young, ambitious musician to grab the attention of a community?

Chutzpah! Yes, that word that describes that ability to charge ahead and not be afraid to ask.

When Galindo was in the ninth grade, he called me and asked if I would be interested in teaching him composition. I said I probably would not. He asked if he could show me his work. When he brought it over, suddenly, yes, I would be interested.

He wrote several piece and at a summer MOSC walked up to the then conductor, Rob Hunt, and asked him if the orchestra would be interested in playing his music. The result was that the next year they played his trumpet concerto on a children's concert.

Bill Hardin, the director of the Odessa High School band program was very supportive and arranged for him to write pieces for the band and orchestra to play as well as giving him the opportunity to gain experience in conducting.

The Tuesday Morning Music and Arts Club awarded him their first music scholarship. He won the chamber music composition award from the Texas Music Teachers Association.

Now the Lone Star Brass had commissioned him to write a piece for them.

I was eagerly awaiting to hear what six years of musical training at Northwestern University and the Cleveland Institute of Music had added to his musical abilities.

The Music for Brass is comprised of three sections: Ancient Voice, Prickly Pairs and Alarum.

The contrasting movements ranged from the quiet, eerily lyrical first movement through the rhythmically demanding and humorous second movement to the blatantly raucous third movement and created a unusual but well-placed sound.

This is truly 21st century music. New sounds are called for from the instruments, and there are demands made from the players that challenge their musicianship. (It was interesting to see Santorelli have to count that hard!) The effect is the same as those visual effects in a painting by Picasso or Klee.

"Fragments" is the word that immediately comes to mind. This is unique music.

After exploring new sounds the quintet ended their program with the suite from "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and arranged by Jack Gale. Many of the tunes were represented with an added surprise that Eric Baker sang "Maria" with a very pleasing voice. (Nice head tone on the end, Eric.) Then he turned around and played the trumpet.

They responded to the generous applause by playing an encore, "Night in Tunisia."

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