Music pays tribute to America

With a cacophany of screeches, chairs and music stands are pulled into position across the stage. A warm-up tune flows from a clarinet. A slight girl with a heavy BC Calculus textbook lying open on her lap nonchalantly tunes her violin. Suddenly, a woman stands, and the bustling sound settles on one low note. The rehearsal is ready to begin.

Columbia Civic Orchestra is a mix of musicians, including a 15-year-old sophomore from Hickman High School and a retired anesthesiologist, who is the orchestra’s manager. These men and women rehearse every week on Tuesdays and have been preparing for two months for their performance Saturday at the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St.

The performance, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is one of seven concerts the orchestra will perform during the 2006-07 season. What sets Saturday’s performance apart from the others, however, is the addition of an unusual element. One of the three pieces that will be played, “A Lincoln Portrait,” is a narrated piece. Clyde Ruffin, a professor in MU’s department of theatre, will recite excerpts of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speeches set to a background of dramatic music.

“I enjoy this type of performance,” said Ruffin, who is also the pastor at Second Baptist Church. “I’ve done this kind of thing before — you know, with Martin Luther King’s speeches.”

Stefan Freund, the conductor of the orchestra, chose the piece because of the performance’s proximity to Presidents Day, which was Monday. He also decided to go with all American composers, because “these days, Americans are thought of as many things, but not thought of as artists,” Freund said. “It’s important to me to celebrate American music.”

“A Lincoln Portrait” was composed by Aaron Copland, whose clarinet concerto will also be performed by the orchestra. “The concerto, if not the most difficult, is one of the most difficult pieces we’ve ever done,” Freund said.

The third piece, “New England Triptych,” was composed by William Schuman.

Each piece is a little less than 20 minutes long, and there will be several introductions and a brief intermission.

Bruce Gordon, a retired doctor who is now the orchestra manager, plays the horn. “I play usually less than an hour a day,” Gordon said, laughing. “I try to hit it every day, but I’m not a professional. They think in terms of hours, three or more a day.”

Bill Kalinkos, a guest soloist for the show, is a professional musician. He plays with Freund in the group “Alarm Will Sound,” based out of New York. Kalinkos travels quite a bit for his career. He is only in Columbia for a week for rehearsals and the performance and had limited time to practice with Ruffin.

Family members of the musicians stayed in the theater and watched during

the final dress rehearsal. Freund’s wife, Julia, told Ruffin that this week’s rehearsal went much better than last week’s, when it had been difficult to hear him over the music.

“I know,” Ruffin said. “You have to be as close to the mic as you possibly can.”