Conservatory Orchestra and students from Conservatory Choirs perform Ralph Vaughan Williams 'Dona nobis pacem.'

Conservatory bids farewell with Vaughan Williams masterpiece

By: Derek Simons

Posted: 4/27/09

Austerely dressed and nervously pacing the corridors beforehand, UMKC's finely-tuned Conservatory Orchestra and Conservatory Choirs shed all fears onstage in an exceptionally elegant performance Saturday evening for the Finale Concert.

Last Saturday's concert was the culminating event for the Conservatory this year.

White Recital Hall at the James C. Olson performing Arts Center (PAC) needed a bigger stage - not just to have more space for the number of artists, but to render justice to the immensity of what was being performed under the direction of Conductor Robert Olson.

While crouching in the wings to take a photo, the first attack of Chen Yi's "Kansas City Capriccio" nearly bowled me over.

The program continued with confident performances by soloists Rebecca Skaar (soprano) and William Perry (baritone) in Ralph Vaughan William's "Dona nobis pacem."

One of Vaughan Williams's most beloved works, "Dona nobis pacem" features magnificent texts, from Walt Whitman to the Bible.

With music impressively evocative of its lyrics, the cantata explores the horrors of war and the desperate need for peace.

After the intermission, Assistant Conductor Sam Seung-Ryul Yang took over for a bit of Brahms, but fortunately, earlier he had some time to talk with U-News.

"I got here last August and it's been fantastic," Yang said. "What's good for musicians is to have experience. You have to really have a lot of experience and you get it here."

He explained he has been an orchestral conductor for more than 10 years, but will start assisting in UMKC's opera department next semester. He was careful in expressing his preferences.

"I think I have a little predilection to orchestral music, but if you want to be a conductor you will be demanded by both," he said. "You have to be prepared in both."

"Wherever they want me, wherever they give me a job I will go," Yang said. "I can be funny - I can be really nice to people."

Asked what plans he might possibly have for deposing Olson, he responded with a semi-serious "no comment."

dsimons@unews.com