Orchestra displays range of Disney
LANCASTER - It began with a ride on a magical carpet and took concertgoers to a galaxy far, far away.
“Let’s all take a magical carpet ride with ‘Aladdin,’ ” Lancaster Festival Orchestra Maestro Gary Sheldon said at the start of "The Magical Music of Disney" family concert Thursday at the Fairfield Christian Church and Academy Auditorium. The Lancaster Festival attraction featured the orchestra playing Disney songs as accompanying film clips appeared on a large screen.
Sheldon used the concert as an opportunity to teach youngsters about how composers portray themes through use of different families of instruments. In “Mulan,” the theme of courage displayed by the main character is played by the brass. Strings bring out a “beautiful love theme,” and woodwinds represent children playing, he said.
Themes sometimes are carried by soloists, such as the friendship theme on piccolo in “Pocahontas,” Sheldon said. Lancaster Festival member Diane Schick, of Kansas City, Kansas, performed a selection.
“It’s a woodwind instrument originally made of wood,” she said of the piccolo. “I use wind to produce my sound.”
Three young local soloists — Brandon Shull, 19; David Harris, 18; and Clark Hubbard, 20 — shared their talents on the violin, cello and xylophone, respectively. They each demonstrated theme and variation with music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“When you enjoy a performance very, very much as we just did, we shout, ‘Bravo!’ to the performers,” Sheldon said. The audience responded appropriately.
A highlight of the evening was the "Star Wars" Costume Contest. Concertgoers were invited to dress up as their favorite "Star Wars" characters for a chance to conduct the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. Judges Lancaster Festival Executive Director Ken Culver, Fairfield Christian Church Worship and Creative Arts Pastor Joel Reid, and Lancaster Festival supporter Deb Connell selected finalists, and audience applause and cheering determined the winner.
Four-year-old Logan Hedges, of Lancaster, who wore a paper homemade R2-D2 costume drawn by his father, Thomas Ewing Junior High School art teacher Jeremy Hedges, was chosen. Logan also is the son of Elizabeth Hedges. He attended the concert with his grandparents, Jim and Sharon Hedges.
“I think you might be the shortest conductor ever of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra so I am going to lower my stand for you,” Sheldon told Hedges.
He then advised his temporary replacement to take a deep breath and smile. The audience clapped along as the orchestra played the Cantina Band music from in the original "Star Wars" movie.
The youngster said he liked conducting the orchestra. In addition to earning the conductor role, Hedges received a special prize: an official Lancaster Festival lightsaber.
The concert ended with music from “Beauty and the Beast.”
Nine-year-old David Thomas, of Lancaster, said the finale and the "Star Wars" Costume Contest were his favorite parts of the concert. David was one of multiple youngsters dressed as Darth Vader, and he was a finalist in the contest.
“We love bringing the kids, and the kids loved it,” Mary Jo Smith of Lancaster said of the concert. “We had a great time, didn’t we?”
Smith’s question was answered with nods of agreement from granddaughters Isabella Wallace, 5, and Alexa Smith, 3, and friend Creed Miller, 3.