Cirque de la Symphonie and another stunning performance in Lincoln

The Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra season opener with Cirque de la Symphonie played to a nearly full house last night. Couples dressed up for a formal date, college students in jeans, and families with small children all came together for the evening. 

LSO opened immediately with a rousing performance of the Star Spangled Banner--perhaps a new tradition for each concert? It was certainly well met as the audience leapt to their feet to salute the flag. 

But the highlight? The amazing feats of the cirque artists. Having the children in the audience aided the sense of wonder and awe for all--the children would sing along to the music and scream as the aerialists swung and twirled high above us on the ropes or silks. 

The aerial performances by Shana Lord, Alexander Fedortchev, and Vitalii Buza seemed to be the crowd favorite. The grand finale, a duo aerial act performed by Lord and Fedortchev, elicited many gasps of awe and bursts of applause. 

The other acts were equally impressive from the contortionist to the juggler, perhaps the most well choreographed, the performances that most matched the mood and rhythm of the music were the hula hoop act to Manuel de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance and the Cyr wheel performance to Bernstein's Overture to Candide--another breathtaking performance!

A few pieces were orchestra only--they were wonderful pieces! The Tchaikovsky Finale from Symphony from no. 4 and Strauss' Thunder and Lightning Polka were particularly delightful and wonderful!  

Bravo, LSO!

Cirque de la Symphonie returns to Lincoln

This Friday, Sept. 20, at 7:30pm, LSO and Cirque de la Symphonie reunite on stage for what's sure to be another stunning performance. It was in October, 2011, that Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra opened it's season with the spectacular performance of the Cirque de la Symphonie. The audience was awed by the production.

Shana Lord - who will
be performing in Lincoln
on Friday night.

The LCM News review described the audience's reaction:

"As the aerial artists spun and twisted with graceful, athletic skill, and spun or flipped almost to the ground, the audience would gasp... and then sigh with relief."

What is the Cirque de la Symphonie? Shana Lord, one of the aerialists on this Friday's performance, described what the Cirque does as "a marriage" of "physical artistry and musical artistry." In Lord's exclusive interview with LincolnCMN, she said that the audience should be prepared for: 

"A big surprise! Be along for the ride. 

We would love to inspire people to listen to Classical music and become a part of it in their community as people who play and listen to it--enjoy it!"

 Having started as a gymnast and a dancer, Lord describes herself as first an athlete who, with her experience in dance, learned to combine the two into an art form. Canadian based Cirque du Soleil was an important part in the development of her career in this style.

Photos courtesy of Cirque de la Symphonie

Besides performances with Cirque du Soleil, Lord has enjoyed performances with Gwen Stefani, Will Smith, and most recently, Anastacia. Lord shared with LincolnCMN a touching memory from her tour with Anastacia. Just as Lord had finished her act, Anastacia called her back on stage and completely surprised her by singing "Happy Birthday" to her in front of 10,000 people in a stadium. "Traveling together," Lord said, "you become a family."

Cirque de la Symphonie has three troupes of performers, and Lord was not among the troupe that came to perform in Lincoln in 2011. But she is looking forward to performing this Friday in Lincoln:

"Performing with the symphony is really a special treat—we don’t always get to work with live music. My favorite part is really just that--getting to work with the live music. With the different tempos and working as a team, it becomes a more organic, seamless performance."

Lord does all of her own choreography for the show. In Lincoln, she will be performing with Khachaturian's Valse from Masquerade in the first half and, in the second half, an aerial duo with Alexander Fedortchev to music by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Besides the aerial artists like Lord, the Lincoln audience will experience performances with juggling batons, contortion, spinning frame and cubes, hula hoops, acrobatic dance, juggling hats, and more.

If you haven't purchased tickets already, do so right now! All ticket information can be found at the LSO website. On Friday--be there and be amazed!

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An afternoon at the park in Van Cliburn's memory

Svetlana Yashirin welcomed everyone to Antelope Park for the Van Cliburn Celebration and spoke about Cliburn's legacy--that for him, music was more than a career, more than a passion, for Cliburn, music was a mission. 60 years after his triumph in Russia during the Cold War, Cliburn is remembered for not only his own performances, but for his support of young musicians.

Lincoln Music Teachers' Association hosted the celebration this month at Antelope Park on Cliburn's birthday. Pianists of all levels performed, from young and adult students to professional teachers and performers. The concert closed with an arrangement by Van Cliburn performed by Denis Plutalov.

Van Cliburn Celebration: Lincoln pianists honor a legend

Svetlana Yashirin said that "a decade ago I dreamt about Van Cliburn coming to Lincoln to an opening ceremony of the Community Music School and cutting a blue ribbon…" with Van Cliburn's passing earlier this year, that dream will never come true, but, Yashirin says, "[Cliburn's] legacy is going to remain with us, legacy of a man with a big heart. I felt that I needed to tell my students about this man, about an incredible transformative power of music. Van Cliburn was very serious and articulate about his attitude to music. He detested the word entertainment; instead, he understood music as a mission."

To honor Cliburn's legacy, LMTA is hosting a "Van Cliburn Celebration" from 5:00 to 7:15 p.m. this Friday, July 12, at the Antelope Park Band Shell (27^th & A Streets). The event will be free and open to the public.  Intermediate and advanced solo and duo pianists of all ages will be performing. The LMTA website states the objective of the event: "to provide information on the power of music to overcome barriers of prejudice and hostility on the example of 'Van' Cliburn. Piano music from all eras will be represented." 

The website goes on to explain why Cliburn's legacy is so important: 

"Harvey Lavan 'Van' Cliburn, Jr., was an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at the age of 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been accorded a classical musician. His cover story in Time magazine proclaimed him 'The Texan Who Conquered Russia.'"

Yashirin explains what Cliburn means to her: "He is a great inspiration to all, especially to musicians. When musicians start to forget about their responsibility of taking their craft seriously, God sends a messenger. Van Cliburn was one of His messengers. People around the world were shaken by a profound message of love communicated through a medium of piano music."

In Cliburn's words, “I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music. Because I'm only one of many, I'm only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes, and give them values. That is why I'm so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit.”

Cliburn founded the Van Cliburn Piano Competition which is a celebration of piano music and pianists, both professional and amateur. That is why, Yashirin says, that LMTA has "invited piano players of all ages and levels of skill to participate in this tribute."

Join these pianists in honoring the legendary Van Cliburn this Friday and celebrating "the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible" of music.

Cirque de la Symphonie and the LSO: Breathtaking

First published over a year ago, this review is of the Cirque de la Symphonie and their performance with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra.

Cirque de la Symphonie will be performing with LSO again in the 2013-2014 season! Visit the Lincoln Symphony website today for more info and ticket purchases!
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To a near capacity crowd, conductor Edward Polochick warmly expressed his appreciation for what he considers “the best audience in the world.” Friday night, the Lincoln audience gasped, sighed, laughed, and cheered—responding as one to the thrilling performance on stage.

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra (LSO) opened its season last night, Sept. 16th. Having just made the move from the smaller venue of Kimball Recital Hall, some may have wondered if LSO could fill the 2,210 capacity of the Lied Center. With the help of Cirque de la Symphonie, LSO played to a packed house.

Performing such favorites as Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz and Swan Lake, John Philip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever, Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snow Maiden: Suite and Danse des bouffons, LSO could have brought down the house with the music alone, but paired with the artistry and acrobatics of Cirque de la Symphonie, the audience was blown away.
As the aerial artists spun and twisted with graceful, athletic skill, and spun or flipped almost to the ground, the audience would gasp... and then sigh with relief. Christine Van Loo and Elena Tsarkova were graceful artists with silk aerials, and Aloysia Gavre astounded everyone as she hung by one hand or just her feet while spinning with the rhythm of the music.

Vladimir Tsarkov was a favorite with the children in the audience, a bright glittery costume, and a face painted like a mime. Feats of juggling prowess and moments of clownish silliness kept the audience full of applause and laughter. The strength of Jarek and Darek’s “Duo Design” was yet another show stopping performance.
Alexander Streltsov first came on stage with his spinning cube act, but he stole the show completely during his aerial performance. Perhaps it was the masculine quality of his dance and performance, soaring out over the audience and back over the orchestra with the silks like a cloak, or the exceptional, exquisite, and perfect choreography. The music and acrobat were one in this performance—drawing in the audience and taking their breath away.

Bravo, LSO on your season opener! The spontaneous standing ovation at the end was absolutely deserved.