Nerds versus snobs at VSO's Lord of the Rings Symphony

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      This is the time of year when the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents a diverse selection of “specials” concerts, events designed to bring in less traditional audiences.

      From the songs of ABBA to the themes from video games, these offerings will help atypical symphony audiences gain entertaining exposure to musical expressions that might otherwise remain inaccessible.

      It’s smart marketing, good public relations, educational, provides work for our excellent local musicians, and, perhaps most importantly, helps the VSO’s bottom line.

      It also helps break down the perceived snobbery barrier—real or not—that surrounds most symphonic presentations.

      This past weekend (November 27 and 28) saw performances of Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings Symphony. Your agent attended on Saturday as the guest of 10-year-old son Liam and was interested—as one half of a confirmed LOTR nerd pairing—in observing the makeup and behaviour of the crowd as compared to your run-of-the-mill symphony attendees.

      There were definitely fewer people sporting formal or semiformal wear, but no dress-up hobbits, orcs, or sword-wielding heroes were to be seen. There seemed to be a much higher percentage of younger faces overall, and more than a few young boys—perhaps the wizard-loving offspring of VSO season suscribers—squirmed uncomfortably in dark-coloured suits with ties.

      Those expecting boorish or nerdish behaviour in the lineup outside the sold-out Orpheum had to content themselves with the spectacle of two couples chugging canned power drinks, perhaps to enhance their pre-performance jitters. (Okay, so that's pretty nerdish.)

      During the execution of Shore’s masterwork—six movements performed by orchestra, chorus, and soloists—the Tolkien devotees and movie fans seemed positively, well, spellbound. Regular concertgoers could be advised to learn something from their behaviour: no ringtones, almost zero throat-clearing and coughing, chatter held to a minimum, and no crinkling of candy wrappers.

      The performance itself was glorious, with a full orchestra and at least 100 voices from the Vancouver Bach Choir and its children’s chorus regaling ears with the surprisingly emotion-tugging composition distilled from Shore’s 12-hour score for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

      The symphony’s familiar Celtic tin-whistle melody, gently and wistfully emblematic of the Shire, seemed to captivate listeners, and its soloist was singled out for special attention. The dissonant percussion of the orc armies, the noble strains exhorting the riders of Rohan, and the reflective, pitiable expression of Gollum’s lament flowed seamlessly with the visual counterpoint of projected artworks depicting characters and scenes from Tolkien’s tomes.

      Audience inexperience betrayed itself with some untimely clapping and the ultra-enthusiastic ovation prior to the intermission—clearly, more than a few were under the impression that the concert had ended after only two movements and the playing of some of the more familiar airs from the soundtrack.

      Overall, though, it would be hard to imagine a more thoughtful and enraptured audience. So what if the coda was preempted by vigorous, if misplaced, applause? It was in spontaneous response to soloist Kaitlyn Lusk’s splendid rendering of “Into the West” and was taken up by a few dozen pairs of hands before petering out as conductor Markus Huber soldiered on.

      The actual finale was followed by extended, appreciative applause, nothing mechanical, and with only a few of Vancouver’s usual “let’s get ’em off their feet” standing-o disciples in evidence.

      One bad-tempered dowager-in-waiting—while exiting the balcony and, no doubt, referring to the faux pas at the finish—loudly proclaimed to her companion: “They should have stayed home in their parents’ basements!”

      A better line couldn’t have been written for TV’s Crane brothers, Frasier and Niles.

      But take heart, Lord of the Rings geeks. She was definitely in the minority that night.

      And we were two inexperienced nerds who had a simply wonderful evening.

      We’ll be back.

      Comments

      6 Comments

      Alex_220

      Nov 29, 2010 at 10:00pm

      It's spelled TOLKIEN.

      Martin Dunphy

      Nov 29, 2010 at 10:34pm

      Alex:

      Thanks, it has been corrected.
      I never said I was a spelling nerd (although I'm supposed to be. Haste makes waste).

      Alex_220

      Nov 29, 2010 at 11:39pm

      No problem, it's a common mistake. And I am a self-confessed Tolkien nerd. :)

      (PS Photo caption is still wrong)

      Klement Delshad

      Nov 30, 2010 at 3:10pm

      "Regular concertgoers could be advised to learn something from their behaviour: no ringtones, almost zero throat-clearing and coughing, chatter held to a minimum, and no crinkling of candy wrappers."

      I agree whole-heartedly. It was fantastic to see such a young and enthusiatic audience.

      "The performance itself was glorious."

      I disagree. The Bach Choir showed their cracks with mistimed consonants on entries and cutoffs (with their 'S' constantly giving way that dreaded 's-s-s-s' effect). They barely looked up from their scores. They seemed constantly flat (or sharp). And the Bach Choir soloists were very sub par.

      The VSO overall (especially the older members) seemed like they wanted to just play it and get it over with so they could work on their other "more important" rep. The brass clearly had a hard time hearing over the percussion when it was playing (as it bled into the PA through the choir's mics).

      On the other hand the VSO soloists did very well, proving that, if motivated, at least certain VSO members can still produce truly moving performances.

      Not worth $60. Not worth a standing O.

      Bring the Montreal Symphony back to the Orpheum to play LOTRS and lets see how it sounds.

      cranky mom

      Nov 30, 2010 at 8:23pm

      bring back the VSO + Looney Tunes!

      average rape ape

      Dec 2, 2010 at 7:54pm

      Im going to throw a party in vancouver: Nerd pro's & Snob ho's.