A Day in the Spotlight

Membership in the Winston-Salem Symphony has its perks. But enjoying the solo spotlight for an entire piece is rarely one of them.

A quick glance at the 50-plus "Classics" concerts programmed by the symphony since 1999 proves the point. Only two symphony members have stood in front of their colleagues to perform a concerto, a piece in which one or more soloists team up with an orchestra. Corine Brouwer got the nod in Glazunov's Violin Concerto in 2001, and trombonist Brian French played George Walker's Trombone Concerto the next year.

Guest artists starred in the other concertos in the "Classics" concerts, which have focused on established masterworks.

This situation will begin to change dramatically next Sunday and Feb. 10 at the Stevens Center. No fewer than six symphony musicians have been engaged as concerto soloists during a program titled "Orchestral Headliners." Robert Moody, the symphony's music director, will share conducting duties with Matthew Troy, the symphony's recently appointed assistant conductor and education director.

"I want to remind people of how strong the members of the Winston-Salem Symphony are and what really high level of player we've got here," Moody said.

In addition to the "Classics" concerts, an abridged version of "Orchestral Headliners" will be presented Saturday at the Stevens Center, kicking off the four-concert "Kicked-Back Classics" series.

A little background

Asked to describe the first "Kicked-Back" presentation of the season, Moody spoke of a slideshow of pictures of the soloists in various stages of their musical careers. He also said that his commentary would illuminate players' backgrounds. So audience members will learn, for example, which symphony players come from foreign countries and which ones have backed jazz and pop artists.

Pieces with multiple soloists will dominate "Orchestral Headliners." Trumpeters Anita Cirba and Ken Wilmot will solo in Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major. A wind quartet will collaborate with the symphony in Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, K. 297b; the soloists will include flutist Kathryn Levy, oboist Amanda Gerfin, bassoonist Saxton Rose and horn player Robert Campbell.

Yes, a sinfonia concertante is technically not a concerto, but it is certainly very much like one. The scholarly Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians defines it as "a concert genre of the late 18th and early 19th centuries for solo instruments -- usually two, three or four, but on occasion as many as seven or even nine -- with orchestra. The term implies ‘symphony with important and extended solo parts', but the form is closer to concerto than symphony." And Levy's husband, David, a musicologist at Wake Forest University, has pointed out in an essay that these "works are generally lighter and shorter than most symphonies or concertos, and they were especially popular in Paris until ca. 1830."

The "Headliners" program will conclude with Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (1943), a popular masterpiece in which each orchestra section plays a "solo" role.

The previously scheduled premiere of On the Sixth Day, an oboe concerto by Bruce Boughton, has been dropped from "Headliners"; its soloist, John Ellis, was unable to prepare the piece this fall because of medical reasons. Moody said that Sixth Day would be done sometime over the next two seasons and that Ellis, the symphony's principal oboist, is recovering well and will probably play in "Headliners."

Troy will conduct the Mozart work. Moody will lead performances of the Vivaldi concerto and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.

Musicians' view

The reactions among the symphony's soloists to their rare assignments vary from player to player.

"This is a thrill for me," Wilmot said. "It (the Vivaldi concerto) is a great piece. It's a staple of the trumpet repertoire. (But) we don't get to perform it that often. It's especially great to play with a colleague like Anita."

"Anita" is Anita Cirba, a virtuoso who soloed with the Winston-Salem Symphony, albeit in the early 1990s. She and Wilmot have performed the Vivaldi concerto before -- in a version with organ at the 2007 wedding of Emily Brown, the daughter of Malcolm Brown, a symphony board member.

Bassoonist Rose played in the Puerto Rico Symphony before moving here this fall to teach at the UNC School of the Arts. He has performed several concertos in recent years. Those works were for one soloist only, whereas Sinfonia concertante will engage four soloists.

"This is a lot of fun because we get to collaborate," Rose said. "We get to collaborate on how we want the music to sound. (As a lone soloist), you make decisions by yourself."

Flutist Levy said that she has performed concertos "maybe a dozen times" with several orchestras. But she's not at ease in the solo spotlight.

"I'm much more comfortable in the orchestral situation -- which is what I always wanted to do and love to do," she said. "Playing concertos is not my thing. But because I'm up there with three other colleagues, I think I'll be fairly comfortable."

Oboist Gerfin joined the orchestra this season after earning a master's degree about two years ago. She said she has never soloed in front of an orchestra before. But like everything else in life, there's a first time for everything. Gerfin said "it's a little more comforting" that her first solo gig with an orchestra will entail her playing alongside other soloists. That said …

"It's not less pressure," she said. "It doesn't take any less … effort and concentration and everything. But I think if you have other members of the orchestra do a quartet with you, you have someone else to play off of."

As for what happens after "Headliners," Moody said he plans to present a similar program every three years. The idea is to present "repertory that can highlight as many principals in a given (concert) cycle as possible." That will mean not only pieces for one soloist but also compositions in which as many as 10 soloists are involved.

This newfound commitment to showcasing the Winston-Salem Symphony's solo talents seems to be sitting well with Gerfin.

"Regular orchestras get so excited about guest artists coming in and that kind of thing," she said. "I don't want to say you lose emphasis on the orchestra, because people do just come to hear the orchestra. But I think that whenever the members themselves aren't featured, people don't realize exactly what it is that they have lying with their orchestra, not only as a whole but also individually."

■ Ken Keuffel can be reached at 727-7337 or at kkeuffel@wsjournal.com.

Symphony schedule

The Winston-Salem Symphony will present the following events through Feb. 10:

•MUSICAL U: David Levy, a professor at Wake Forest University, will lead the first of four "Musical U" courses from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Reynolda House. He'll focus on the music to be performed in the "Orchestral Headliners" program. Admission is $25, $18 for seniors and $8 for students. Call 336-758-5900.

• LUNCHEON: Conductor Robert Moody and the "Headliners" soloists will speak at the Music Lovers Luncheon at noon Friday at the Piedmont Club, 200 W. Second St. (19th floor). The cost is $13 a person. Reservations are required; call 336-724-7077.

• JUST KICKIN': The first of four "Kicked-Back Classics" concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Stevens Center, 405 W. Fourth St. This will be an abridged version of a "Classics" program called "Orchestral Headliners." Tickets are $10-$35. See www.wssymphony.org or call 336-464-0145. "Brews with Bob" will be held right after the concert at a venue to be announced.

• CLASSIC: A "Classics" concert called "Orchestral Headliners" will be at 3 p.m. next Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Stevens Center. Tickets are $15-$55. See www.wssymphony.org or call 336-464-0145.