Symphony showcase draws crowd

For a symphony orchestra stuck in a financial and contractual dilemma severe enough to shut down operations, alienate musicians and threaten bankruptcy, it sure did put on a good show Friday night.

The 75th anniversary gala concert at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, a one-time-only spectacle that filled the stage with players and singers, drew a near-capacity -- and enthusiastic -- crowd.

When Mayor Joe Riley offered an impassioned call to keep the music playing another 75 years, the audience erupted into applause.

And when a recorded message from Music Director David Stahl was played in which he celebrated the "Charleston Symphony Orchestra family," praised Maestro Stuart Malina (a former CSO assistant conductor) and insisted that classical music was an important part of the life of the city, the response was warm and vigorous.

Stahl, who could not participate because of health issues but who was able to listen to the concert live thanks to a special audio feed, was on the minds of many. Before the start of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Malina told the audience he was thrilled to be conducting this important concert, and the only thing that could have made him happier would have been to see Stahl conduct it.

The concert, which featured members of the CSO, numerous freelancers from the region, the CSO Chorus, Spiritual Ensemble and College of Charleston Concert Choir, was organized by a special committee that functioned independently from the symphony organization. The goal to raise $90,000 through ticket sales and donations was exceeded, according to the city's Office of Cultural Affairs, which acted as fiscal agent. Organizers collected $115,000.

The large audience was noticeably diverse and included many who are not regular symphony patrons.

In his introduction, Riley referred to the planned renovation of the Gaillard, which sparked more applause. Despite the large numbers of musicians on stage, and the big sound they produced, the auditorium did betray its shortcomings. The first and second violins, and the four soloists -- Deanna McBroom, Janet Hopkins, Harold Meers and David Templeton -- were necessarily positioned far downstage and in front of the shell that helps project sound into the large hall. As a result, the balance was off. No matter how forcefully the violins played or how rigorously the voices sang, they never quite fulfilled their purpose of providing the music its leading edge.

But perfect balance was not the main thing Friday night. More important was the effort to entertain and impress with exciting renditions of Shostakovich's Festive Overture and Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol before intermission, and Beethoven's famous choral symphony in the second half.

These works are crowd pleasers, and they did the trick.

What's more, organizers succeeded in showing patrons what is possible when a city's cultural life includes a symphony orchestra.

Perhaps this season, already compromised by the CSO's operational shutdown, can at least offer another big concert bash in the spring. It could prove that the enthusiasm elicited this time around was not a sentimental fluke but a genuine expression of the community's wishes.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902.