Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield, MA
October 13, 2014
by Eric Sutter
An undertaking of such magnitude as the sophisticated rock
and pop of "Sgt. Pepper" in combination with the Springfield Symphony
Orchestra was completely adaptable on a grand scale. Peter Brennan's
"Jeans 'n Classics" groups' concept of this combination proved
admirable in Springfield. Along with the group, vocalist Jean Meiller sang
superb arrangements with a fun spirit. Meiller possessed a robust timbre that
provided many comfortable memories to an appreciative audience. The band began
with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with two female backup
vocalists in Kathryn Rose and Leah Salomaa. By the time of the orchestral sweep
of "She's Leaving Home,” many nice high notes were hit with fine musical
accompaniment by keyboardist John Regan. The rhythm section was tight and
effective.
At times, some electric guitar passages were not audible
enough. As a whole, the carnival ambience sound of "Being for the Benefit
of Mr. Kite" and the jaunty "Lovely Rita" were fabulous and
provided high entertainment. Group founder Peter Brennan supplied a unique
psychedelic vocal sound to "Within You, Without You" with familiar
tabla sounding drum parts. Paul McCartney's "When I'm 64" had the
audience singing along. The orchestral strings built a crescendo of dramatic
musical tension on "A Day in the Life" to its astonishing climax and
release for the end of the first half.
The second portion brought the harmonic joy of the
Springfield Symphony Chorus, under direction by Nikki Stoia, performing the
John Lennon solo classic "(Just Like) Starting Over." A nicely played
acoustic guitar intro by Brennan signaled "Across The Universe."
Excellent orchestra string work propelled "Eleanor Rigby" to majesty.
The George Harrison song "My Sweet Lord" was out shown by a melodic
mimic of slide guitar by Dave Dunlop. "Because" featured the lovely
dream-like harmonies of the Symphony Chorus. The scope and unimpaired
brilliance of their inventive sound was impressive. The group dazzled with the
Beatles, classic rock of "The Long and Winding Road" and "Let It
Be" for an exhilarated finale. Vocalist Meiller shared an intimate encore
with a warm rendition of Ringo's "Goodnight."
