Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | 3:01 p.m.
Trumpet player John Dunia can remember a time last year when a concert he played moved him in a way he hadn’t expected.
“That concert was probably one of the greatest musical experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “It was almost ethereal, like we were on another planet.”
Dunia plays for the Henderson Symphony Orchestra and, excluding a 2 1/2-year break he took because of work obligations, he has been with the orchestra for about five years. In that time he’s witnessed several positive changes, he said, especially in the past year.
He attributes much of it to the orchestra’s relatively new conductor, Taras Krysa.
Krysa began with the orchestra in January 2007, after the previous director had to leave mid-season. There had been many improvements under the previous director, Dunia said, but nothing compared to what Krysa has brought to the table.
Krysa’s talents were obvious even at his audition for the job. “He worked with our string section for about a minute and he got them sounding better than they’ve ever sounded,” Dunia said. “We’re at a whole new level.”
Krysa, born in Kiev, Ukraine, moved to the United States in 1989, earning master’s degrees in violin performance and orchestra conducting. Beyond acting as the Henderson Symphony Orchestra conductor, he also acts as UNLV’s director of orchestras.
Carol Johnson, a violinist who has been a member of the orchestra for close to 20 years, described her involvement in the orchestra as a compulsion. Members play for free, rehearsing and performing on their own time.
“We play because we have to play,” she said. “My life is more complete being able to play with an orchestra.”
About 65 members make up this season’s orchestra. The number playing at a given time depends on the piece, orchestra manager Molly Murphy said. This season, Krysa is beginning with relatively easier pieces before ending with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, which will be performed in May.
DeAnne Wolfgram, a clarinetist, said members are not working to be a professional orchestra at this point, though they are getting closer to that sound.
Krysa acknowledged the transition.
“We’re functioning more like a highly organized professional group,” Krysa said. “We’re not quite there yet, but that’s where we’re going.”
With that near-professional quality so close, some members have pushed themselves more than in the past.
“I’ve actually been so pleased with the way the orchestra is progressing, I’ve tried to improve my own technique as well,” Dunia said. “I kind of feel like I owe it to the orchestra.”
Henderson Symphony Orchestra
WHAT: Concert season opening performance
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sept. 14
WHERE: Henderson Pavilion, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway
FEATURING: Copland’s “Quiet City,” Strauss’ “Wind Serenade,” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40
COST: Free
INFO: 267-2171
Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].
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