Wow! The East Texas Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Richard Lee and Cirque de la Symphonie gave an amazing performance on Saturday, 17 November 2012 beginning at 7:30 PM in Vaughn Auditorium of R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center at the University of Texas at Tyler. This was a blend of a symphony concert and circus acts.
This concert opened with Dvorak: Carnival Overture, Op. 92 played by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra (ETSO).
Shana Lord performed acrobatic moves titled “Arial Silks” while the ETSO played Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F, mvt III. She performed breathtaking acrobatic moves while suspended above the stage on fabric draped from a swivel.
Vova Tsarkov mesmerized the audience by spinning a frame then spinning a cube while the ETSO played Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1: Les Toreadors.
The ETSO played Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1: Prelude & Aragonaise.
Konstantin Serov and Byamba Jigdengombo combined contortions and dance while the ETSO played Tchaikovsky: Valse from Sleeping Beauty Suite Op. 66a – II. Their movements were graceful and synchronized to the music.
The ETSO played Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours.
Alexander Fedortchev, who has been compared to Tarzan because of his physique, performed on the aerial rope while the ETSO played Wagner: Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries. His smooth aerial maneuvers demonstrated both grace and strength.
Following the intermission, the ETSO played Weber: Oberon Overture.
Byamba Jigdengombo performed contortions on the aerial hoop while the ETSO played Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samon et Dalilah. Her performance exhibited her skills as a master cirque artist.
Vova Tsarkov in a joker costume performed as the Electric Juggler. He juggled different color balls lighted from within and manipulated an object also lighted from within on a rope while the ETSO played Khachaturian: Sabre Dance from Gayane.
Alina Sergeeva performed with hula hoops while the ETSO played Rimsky-Korsakov: Danse des Bouffons from The Snow Maiden. Like most of us she began with one hula hoop, but unlike the rest of us, she progressed to two, three then six hula hoops. However, she did not stop at six hula hoops. An assistant exchanged a stack of hoops for the six hula hoops. Alina stood inside this stack of hoops and manipulated them over herself like a giant slinky before spinning all of these hoops around her body.
This performance of Josef Strauss: Die Libelle (German for 'The Dragonfly') by the ETSO was better than a television performance of this work by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in one of their New Years Day concerts mainly because this was also a flawless performance and it was live in East Texas.
Alexander Fedortchev and Shana Lord, the Aerial Duo, provided the grand finale by performing on silk fabric suspended above the stage on a swivel. Most impressive was how Shana hung upside down from the red silk fabric and supported Alexander beneath her. The ETSO played Tchaikovsky: Valse from Swan Lake while Alexander and Shana performed suspended from the red silk fabric.
With cirque artists trained in Mongolia and Russia, music director from Canada, and Texas musicians this was truly an international performance in East Texas.
We met Richard Lee, ETSO Music Director, at the reception that followed this concert. Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese sandwiches, cheese straws, nuts, chocolate covered cherries, a chocolate shell filled with pudding topped with a strawberry, lemonade, and coffee with Mexican vanilla were served at the reception by people from East Texas Medical Center. Everything was tasty. My favorites were the coffee with Mexican chocolate (no sweetener or cream needed), chocolate shell filled with pudding topped with a strawberry, and the chocolate covered cherries. We were pleasantly surprised, after sitting down to eat near the room from which servers were restocking the serving tables, when the servers began bringing trays of food to us; what a deal!
This concert opened with Dvorak: Carnival Overture, Op. 92 played by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra (ETSO).
Shana Lord performed acrobatic moves titled “Arial Silks” while the ETSO played Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F, mvt III. She performed breathtaking acrobatic moves while suspended above the stage on fabric draped from a swivel.
Vova Tsarkov mesmerized the audience by spinning a frame then spinning a cube while the ETSO played Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1: Les Toreadors.
The ETSO played Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1: Prelude & Aragonaise.
Konstantin Serov and Byamba Jigdengombo combined contortions and dance while the ETSO played Tchaikovsky: Valse from Sleeping Beauty Suite Op. 66a – II. Their movements were graceful and synchronized to the music.
The ETSO played Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours.
Alexander Fedortchev, who has been compared to Tarzan because of his physique, performed on the aerial rope while the ETSO played Wagner: Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries. His smooth aerial maneuvers demonstrated both grace and strength.
Following the intermission, the ETSO played Weber: Oberon Overture.
Byamba Jigdengombo performed contortions on the aerial hoop while the ETSO played Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samon et Dalilah. Her performance exhibited her skills as a master cirque artist.
Vova Tsarkov in a joker costume performed as the Electric Juggler. He juggled different color balls lighted from within and manipulated an object also lighted from within on a rope while the ETSO played Khachaturian: Sabre Dance from Gayane.
Alina Sergeeva performed with hula hoops while the ETSO played Rimsky-Korsakov: Danse des Bouffons from The Snow Maiden. Like most of us she began with one hula hoop, but unlike the rest of us, she progressed to two, three then six hula hoops. However, she did not stop at six hula hoops. An assistant exchanged a stack of hoops for the six hula hoops. Alina stood inside this stack of hoops and manipulated them over herself like a giant slinky before spinning all of these hoops around her body.
This performance of Josef Strauss: Die Libelle (German for 'The Dragonfly') by the ETSO was better than a television performance of this work by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in one of their New Years Day concerts mainly because this was also a flawless performance and it was live in East Texas.
Alexander Fedortchev and Shana Lord, the Aerial Duo, provided the grand finale by performing on silk fabric suspended above the stage on a swivel. Most impressive was how Shana hung upside down from the red silk fabric and supported Alexander beneath her. The ETSO played Tchaikovsky: Valse from Swan Lake while Alexander and Shana performed suspended from the red silk fabric.
With cirque artists trained in Mongolia and Russia, music director from Canada, and Texas musicians this was truly an international performance in East Texas.
We met Richard Lee, ETSO Music Director, at the reception that followed this concert. Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese sandwiches, cheese straws, nuts, chocolate covered cherries, a chocolate shell filled with pudding topped with a strawberry, lemonade, and coffee with Mexican vanilla were served at the reception by people from East Texas Medical Center. Everything was tasty. My favorites were the coffee with Mexican chocolate (no sweetener or cream needed), chocolate shell filled with pudding topped with a strawberry, and the chocolate covered cherries. We were pleasantly surprised, after sitting down to eat near the room from which servers were restocking the serving tables, when the servers began bringing trays of food to us; what a deal!
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