Park Ridge orchestra salutes romance

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Dan Golden, viola solist and composer with the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra

‘Valentine Romance’

Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, Pickwick Theatre, 5 S. Prospect, Park Ridge

2:30 p.m. Feb. 12

$25; $20 for students under 18 and senior citizens

www.parkridgecivicorchestra.org or call (847) 692-PRCO or (847) 823-8861

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Updated: February 7, 2012 9:38PM

Love and discovery are the themes of the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra’s “Valentine Romance” concert on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the Pickwick Theatre.

Love, of course, because Valentine’s Day is nigh, and in the immortal words of Shakespeare, “If music be the food of love, play on.” The PRCO will perform suites from two monumental works, Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet, Opus 64.”

And discovery, with the world premiere of “Likht un Shotn (Light and Shadow),” a klezmer concertante composed by violist Daniel Golden, who is in his eighth year with the orchestra.

Klezmer premiere

Lisa Taylor, French Horn soloist and principal horn of the PRCO, was originally approached about playing a traditional concerto, Golden said, “but what she really wanted to do was a work involving a group of soloists.” A klezmer fan, she asked Golden, who was a member of a klezmer band in Canada for several years, to compose something in that idiom. “She had seen me in action,” he said.

“Likht un Shotn” is not an arrangement of traditional klezmer tunes, Golden emphasized, but a blending of klezmer and classical (klezmer-cal?) that evokes the joyous and danceable rhythms of Eastern European Jewish music, as well as Middle Eastern, Balkan and gypsy music. In addition to Taylor and Golden, the piece will feature Alan Steiner on double bass and Joe Lill on trumpet.

“I think it’s a very accessible program,” Golden said.

Broadening the audience for the orchestra, now in its 18th season, is a priority for Music Director Designate and conductor Victor Muenzer, whose father Edgar, a 47-year veteran first violinist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, founded the PRCO. Victor, 53, will fully take over orchestra duties in July.

“My passion is connecting with audiences who have yet to discover us,” he said, “so we’re trying to change things up a bit. There will be a popular piece, such as ‘West Side Story,’ on every program. I may talk a little more from the podium to let people know why are performing these particular pieces and connect with them on a personal level. That’s what music is all about and why we do what we do.” He added with a laugh, “I mean, nobody does this for the money.”

The concert’s Sunday afternoon starting time is one way to reach out to families, Muenzer said, “but we need to get the parents coming.”

Love stories

“Valentine Romance” is part of that effort to win minds and hearts. Muenzer suspects that “West Side Story” is the big draw, but “Romeo & Juliet,” a suite created from Prokofiev’s ballet, has much to offer audiences who may be more familiar with Tchaikovsky’s orchestral work based on Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy. “It has huge sweeping themes and much more of the feel of film music,” he said.

“Likht un Shotn,” he added, “is full of soulful melodies and dance rhythms that are extremely infectious. The piece has exceeded my expectations on what it was going to be.”

What’s more, he joked, in contrast to the stories of Tony and Maria and Romeo and Juliet, “it does have a happy ending.”