YOUTH ORCHESTRA CHARMS BIG SPRING LAKE AUDIENCE

Usually the Spring Lake Village auditorium stage is pretty empty, with a small chamber music ensembles. In February it was a solo harpist, and April’s concert will be a solo pianist. All that changed Feb. 28 when the 53 musicians of Santa Rosa Symphony’s Youth Orchestra took the stage before a packed hall of 150. Eighteen schools provided the performers.

Conducted by Bobby Rogers, the 53 players began with Smetana’s Moldau Suite from Má Vlast, and completed the first part with part of Ravel’s Tzigane, with violinist soloist concertmaster Henry Miller.

Playing in the abbreviated 1874 Moldau Suite was properly Wagnerian with Rheingold sonorities, the strings light and the percussion (Nathra Kem) loud. A shortened Tzigane excerpt caught the gypsy character of the music and Mr. Rogers’ tempo was brisk.

Oboist Samuel Oryn was the narrator for Prokofiev’s venerable Children’s Suite Peter and the Wolf, written in 1936 and popular since. Classy solos were heard throughout by Cheyeon Shin (flute); bassoonist Fisher Lamborn; Damian Burgess (clarinet) and hornist Remy Desjarlais. Instruments were placed both on the hall’s floor and the stage, winning the acoustic battle of the auditorium’s famously dry and un reverberant sound. Balances were good with lower string sound prevailing, especially the double basses.

Flute and bassoon duos were lovely and convincing, and as Mr. Oryn’s final words stated at the happy march to the zoo, the duck was still alive in the wolf’s stomach.