Nashville Chamber Orchestra's Thanksgiving Celebration Delights Concertgoers

While millions of people spend Thanksgiving weekend fighting the crowds, many Middle Tennessee residents spend the holiday at the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall, enjoying the Nashville Chamber Orchestra's (NCO) Annual Thanksgiving Celebration concerts.

This years' show featured music from Stevie Wonder's iconic 1976 "Songs in the Key of Life" album, and more, the NCO and a number of guest soloists delighted audiences on both Friday and Saturday nights with performances of legendary Wonder songs and two new commissioned works.

After an opening number by NCO choir coordinator Odessa Settles, local vocal legend Jonell Mosser wowed the crowd with a version of Wonder's "As," accompanied by internationally-known NCO (and Flecktones) sax player Jeff Coffin. After a couple more numbers by Settles and Mosser, accompanied by several dozen members of the outstanding NCO Gospel Choir, the first commissioned work of the evening was introduced.

Master guitarist and longtime Elton John sideman John Jorgenson, the NCO's artist-in-residence, performed an original commissioned piece with the orchestra, featuring Ukrainian musician Alexander Fedoriouk on the cimbalom, a four-octave string instrument similar to a hammer dulcimer but the size of a small keyboard. The piece's movements borrowed from musical genres from around the world, with Indian scales, a few traditional Western rock and pop chord changes, and a smattering of the European gypsy jazz that Jorgenson is famous for playing. Prominently featuring the little-known cimbalom, the performance received a standing ovation.

After intermission, Tracy Silverman, one of the world's leading exponents of the electric violin, showed how he has taken the instrument into the 21st century, continuing down the path that was first blazed by Jean-Luc Ponty and Jerry Goodman. Using a six-string violin and MIDI setup with digital looping effects, Silverman had the crowd rockin' as he looped parts for what would become his own version of Wonder's "I Wish," complete with the signature funk bass line.
He then segued into a commissioned work that, while perhaps not on the same level as Jorgenson's composition, electrified the audience nonetheless as he wandered the stage, incorporating rock guitar licks and a variety of digitally sampled sounds into his performance.

After performances by Mosser and renowned session vocalist Scat Springs, Abby Burke performed the Wonder tour de force "Another Star," perhaps taking her vocal histrionics a little too far outside, with Coffin and Jorgenson joining in on flute and electric guitar, respectively. The entire cast of the evening took the stage for a rousing finale of Wonder's "Sir Duke."

Hats off to NCO Music Director Paul Gambill, Concertmaster David Davidson, and Gospel Choir Co-Directors Nathan Young and Jason Shelton for a great show. One can only imagine the amount of work that goes into a performance of this type.

In the end it wasn't perfect; but then, this holiday isn't about perfection, it's about thanksgiving. And everyone in the house was clearly thankful that Nashville has the world-class NCO.

The Nashville Chamber Orchestra's (NCO) Annual Thanksgiving Celebration is normally held every year on the Friday and Saturday nights immediately following Thanksgiving Day.
To learn more about the NCO, upcoming events, or tickets, please visit them on the web at www.nco.org

Article Written & Submitted by Rick Moore