Concerts – Valerie's Voice

Urness Recital Hall

Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus is a wonderful venue all year long, but it is especially cozy this time of year with its intimate setting and attractive lighting.

The light shining through the windows of Urness Hall, lighting up a dark space.

We bundled up and went out into the cold night for a 7:00 performance at Urness Hall, knowing it didn’t take long to get to campus, it would be easy to park, it would be a free concert with a reasonable time commitment, and we’d hear some exceptional music.

Along one wall in Urness Hall is floor to ceiling windows. Sound boards help create fine acoustics.

The venue was maybe half full with students and community members. We sat on an aisle, behind a St. Olaf conductor of a different ensemble, who was in the audience. I’m sure she couldn’t help herself…she was covertly conducting the performance from her seat. She was fun to watch.

There were three musical scores on the program. The first two were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750, a German composer, and they both included the harpsichord. The third piece was composed by Pyotr Lylich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a Russian composer.

Apparently during the 16th-18^th centuries, the harpsichord became an important European instrument, which may be why Bach’s compositions included the harpsichord.

The harpsichord and music score, on stage, ready to be played.

I don’t know the history of St. Olaf’s harpsichord, but I overheard this was the first time it was played in Urness Recital Hall. James E. Bobb, the conductor of a choral ensemble at St. Olaf, and an organ/harpsichord professor, played the harpsichord during the performance.

St. Olaf’s harpsichord, moved to the side after the first two pieces were finished (the top was removed before I was able to take a picture.)

The third piece by Tchaikosky was performed by 21 students from the St. Olaf orchestra. They were student-lead by the first chair violin (or viola), and included four string instruments: violin, viola, cello and bass cello. It was a lively, spirited performance. The students really do put a lot into their playing. Not only is it wonderful to hear them play, it’s fun to watch them play.

The 21 orchestra members playing beautiful music.

And so, an hour and 15 minutes later, we were putting our jackets back on and heading home, glad that we took the time to venture out for some high-quality music, being uplifted on this dark, cold January evening.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

It’s been a long time since we’ve been to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, but we attended a concert there last weekend. In addition to the main stage play productions, there is a smaller venue, the Fireside Theater, where concert series are performed.

At the end of December, we were scheduled to go to the Christmas on the Prairie concert in the Fireside Theater, but a winter storm caused Chanhassen to cancel the concert. So, we had to choose a different concert. We chose Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Enjoying the fire in the main lobby of Chanhassen Dinner Theater, before the concert.

Collective Unconscious is a popular Minnesota band that performs tribute concerts of different 60’s and 70’s bands. In 2019, we saw them preform a tribute concert to the Eagle’s at the Paradise Theatre in Faribault, and they were very good. We were excited to see them perform Simon and Garfunkel’s music. It did not disappoint.

A photo of the album cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s *Bridge Over Troubled Water*.

Collective Unconscious includes three guitar players who are also the vocalists, a drummer and a keyboardist. In addition, for this concert, there were 4 violin players, 2 trumpet, 2 trombone, 2 saxophone players, plus a harpist and flautist. They put on an impressive performance, and amazingly they sounded like Simon and Garfunkel, just as they sounded like the Eagle’s when they sang Eagle’s songs. How do they do that? They are very talented.

The first act they performed various songs by the duo, and a couple solo works by Paul Simon.

After intermission they played through the entire Bridge over Troubled Water album, the last album recorded by Simon and Garfunkel in 1970, before they went their separate ways.

The first song on the album is “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, a favorite of mine, and many others. The lead vocalist did a superb job!

The group performed the songs in order on the album, and after several songs one of the vocalists said something to the effect… Back in the 60’s if you were laying on your orange, shag carpeting listening to a vinyl album, you would hear the scratch sound indicating it had come to the end of side one. You would have to get up, physically turn the album over, and set the needle down to play side two... His sound effects and word descriptions were so vivid, we could envision everything he said. It looked like most of us in the auditorium were from that era and could identify with what he was saying. It was not only funny, but nostalgic.

After they finished side two of the album, they came back for an encore and played three more songs including, “The Sounds of Silence”, another one of my favorites.

It was fun to be out on a Saturday night…hanging out listening to great “oldie but goodies” music in an “oldie, but classic” dinner theatre, that was built in a cornfield in Chanhassen, Minnesota in 1968.

More Sweet Music

We recently we attended a St. Olaf Orchestra concert. The college finally opened the campus to visitors, so we could be on campus. The orchestra concert was especially inviting since it is one of Steve Amundson’s (the conductor of St. Olaf’s orchestra) last concerts. He will be retiring at the end of the school year, after forty years at the college.

I enjoy attending St. Olaf orchestra concerts. The audience is guaranteed an amazing, and varied, performance. The students create beautiful music and sound fantastic. At this concert, besides being one of Steve’s last concerts, two out-of-the-ordinary things happened.

First, this concert was performed a few days after the invasion of Ukraine. Steve added a special piece to the program, “Nimrod”, a beautiful, calming piece, and he called for a moment of silence to remember the people of Ukraine. It was poignant.

Then, in addition to featuring two outstanding soloists, a cellist and a clarinet player, another special and distinct piece of music was performed. The husband of a friend of mine, commissioned Steve Amundson to write a piece in honor of his wife and her retirement from thirty-plus years of working at St. Olaf College. The composition was débuted at this concert. It was titled “Gratia Viva” and the piece was remarkable….marvelous…wonderful… it’s hard to find words to describe it. It was such a sweet piece of music, and it was exciting to know the people and story behind the song. How one composes music, especially for multiple instruments, is beyond my imagination.

We will continue to monitor the college’s music calendars for more events, now that the campuses are open to the public. Both colleges offer many gifts to our community, and I am grateful.

The Doobie Brothers

As dusk turned to dark on a beautiful Minnesota summer evening, we were sitting outside, in the grandstand, of the Minnesota State Fair “listening to the music” of the Doobie Brothers. It was a great concert. Gary is my guest writer for this post.

The Minnesota State Fair water tower and Midway Ferris Wheel.

Back in 1970 a few musicians living near San Jose, California formed a band calling themselves the Doobie Brothers. They ultimately became a very popular band, and I had a few of their early albums. When they announced their plans for a 50th Anniversary Tour I was excited to learn one of the venues was at the Minnesota State Fair. We decided to go (along with several friends) and bought our tickets for the 2020 concert. Then along came the pandemic and the State Fair was cancelled… but fortunately the Doobie Brothers were rescheduled for the 2021 fair.

This past week we went to their two-hour long concert and it was fabulous. The energy they exuded was impressive given their ages…most are in their 70’s. It was obvious they were having a good time.

The band consisted of two founding members on lead guitars and vocals (Johnston and Simmons), and another long-time member, who joined the band in 1979, played guitar/fiddle/harmonica. Complimenting them were five others: a bass guitarist, keyboardist, saxophonist, percussionist and a drummer. The guitar performances, whether solo or all three guitars in synchronous melody, were awesome. The dual percussion and talented keyboard musicians made for an incredible display of talent. The saxophone player was outstanding. Add to that…harmonizing vocals. It all made for a great show.

Some of their more well-known songs include: Takin’ it to the Streets, China Grove, Black Water, Jesus is Just Alright, and Listen to the Music. However, even the songs we did not know were enjoyable to listen to because of their incredible talent.

We were delighted to have the opportunity to attend this event. The end is near for classic rock band tours with any founding members, because most of them are now in their 70’s and 80’s.

On another note, we hadn’t been to the state fair for many years (12+) it was nice to go when the numbers were down…the streets were not too crowded and we didn’t have to stand in long lines for food.

It was a perfect evening for an outdoor concert, and a side benefit was our view from the grandstand of the midway Ferris Wheel with its changing light display.

Monster Concert

We are fortunate to live in a town that offers a variety of experiences, especially musical ones, especially from our colleges. Over the weekend I attended the Monster Concert, a piano recital. Actually it was four pianos, and 16 hands…which means two musicians at each of the four grand pianos (one song used eight pianos and 16 hands) all playing classical music and modern pieces together – wonderfully. That’s eighty fingers flying across the keys!

The pianists were mostly St. Olaf faculty and students, dressed in costume, and performing as a large piano ensemble. The concert was geared to all ages and the young children were encouraged to dressed in costumes.

It took place in Urness Recital Hall at St. Olaf College. It’s a beautiful, intimate space, which – for me – always adds another special dimension to performances there.

Urness Recital Hall, Christiansen Hall of Music
St. Olaf College (looking towards balcony)

I was all ready to take photos but at the beginning of the concert they asked the audience not to photograph. It was a fun and festive hour-long concert that was professional and inspiring.