By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO–Transporting and setting up an orchestra at a new venue is an exercise in logistics with surprises not at all uncommon, says David Amos, conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO).
However, he says, the payoff is the possibility of building new audiences for classical music. That’s what he’s hoping for April 1 when TICO performs at Ner Tamid Synagogue at 15318 Pomerado Road in Poway, two days before performing at the synagogue in San Diego for which the orchestra is named .
Amos has been conducting the orchestra through 39 years and four name changes. What is currently an orchestra with 65 to 70 people, more than half of whom play string instruments, started as the Jewish Community Center Chamber Orchestra, then became the Jewish Community Center Symphony, then the East County Jewish Community Center Symphony, and since 1995, the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra.
In going from place to place, “we have to rent a truck and bring our equipment which includes music stands and the conductor’s podium,” while the musicians in home-county performances must converge in timely fashion upon the new venue. While the orchestra has acoustic shells and risers to allow audiences at Tifereth Israel to see and hear the performances more easily, moving such equipment to Ner Tamid is impractical.
Amos recalled that in 1978, the orchestra had a chaotic tour. In one venue, the auditorium had no music stands, “so we improvised some — some of our musicians had wire stands in their cases, others used chairs, but we did the program” To top that off, an employee in charge of lights didn’t come in that day, “so we had to take over the lighting board ourselves.”
In another city, the bus carrying the orchestra arrived late, and the doors to the sold-out auditorium were locked. The orchestra couldn’t get in, except by banging on the doors. And then they had to change from street clothes to their black clothes right on stage, with the audience watching.
At San Diego County high school auditoriums and in churches, where the orchestra has played, people sometimes forget to tell the custodial staff, and everything is closed up when the orchestra arrives for rehearsal. Making phone calls to emergency contacts can usually resolve this problem, but the time for an “acoustic rehearsal” is sometimes truncated or even eliminated, Amos said.
Each auditorium has its own challenges. “If the acoustics are too live, we drown the audience,” said the maestro. “If they are too dry, then we need notes that are longer rather than shorter” so they won’t get lost. At its home venue in the social hall of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, he said, there are no reverberations because the carpet absorbs the sound. On the other hand, in cathedrals, “there is so much reverberation it is like a cavern and the sound bounces forever.”
At acoustic rehearsals, the conductor listens to the sound and adjusts accordingly. He may tell the orchestra to play louder or softer than normal.
The Sunday afternoon, April 1, concert at Ner Tamid will have the orchestra seated with its back to the windows of the sanctuary facing conductor Amos and most of the audience. The bima in the sanctuary of Ner Tamid, normally the focal point for services, will be transformed into a VIP seating area. With 65-70 players, plus a conductor, the orchestra needs an area at least 40 by 50 feet , which is larger than the bima.
Gerry Burstain, a past president of Ner Tamid Synagogue, who is serving as program chairman for the 3 p.m. concert, said Ner Tamid’s bima was built in such a fashion that it could be surrounded by seating, with no one located too far from the rabbi or the Torah reader. This may be ideal for a prayer service, but if the orchestra were to be crowded onto the bima, there would be insufficient distance between it and the audience, Burstain said. People would feel overpowered. So the new seating arrangement was designed specifically for this upcoming performance.
At $18 a ticket for adults, the synagogue hopes that it can raise a little money — even after a split of the proceeds with TICO. Besides fundraising, the concert has two other purposes for Ner Tamid, Burstain said. First is to raise name recognition for the Conservative congregation, and second is to provide a convenient way for residents of North County Inland to attend a concert, without having to drive all the way into San Diego.
The program, featuring cellist Julian Schwarz — son of Seattle Symphony Conductor Gerard Schwarz — will reflect “four dimensions of Judaism,” according to conductor Amos.
“Tradition” will be represented by Serge Prokofiev’s “Overture on Hebrew Themes.”
“Judaic History” will be remembered with Morton Gould’s suite from the television mini-series, “Holocaust.”
“Worship” will be reflected by Julian Schwarz’s rendition on cello of Max Bruch’s arrangement of “Kol Nidre.”
And finally, “Spirit” will be recognized with Schwarz playing Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo, Hebraic Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra.”
Although he is only 20 and still studying at Julliard School of Music under master cellist Joel Krosnick, Schwarz is already a seasoned musician. When Schwarz performed with the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra two years ago, Amos recalled, Gerard Schwarz flew down from Seattle to be in his son’s audience. The younger Schwarz has made several commercial recordings, has soloed with his father’s orchestra as well as the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and at the Casals Festival.
“He is extremely mature and level-headed for his age, beyond his years,” comments Amos. “When he was 17, he could have been appointed as an ambassador somewhere, he is so well spoken. He also does some conducting, and wherever he goes, he is totally aware of the music scene, especially in Seattle ”
Schwarz will rehearse two or three times with TICO prior to the April 1 and 3 performances, allowing members of TICO to refamiliarize themselves with his style. About 90 percent of the orchestra has played with Schwarz previously and have a rapport and admiration for him, Amos reports.
Amos said that early ticket sales for Ner Tamid so far have been weaker than expected whereas Tifereth Israel’s audience, which Amos said averages between 250 and 300, is remaining constant. Nevertheless, Amos is upbeat about the Ner Tamid concert, even though it may prove to be something less than a sell-out.
“To build an audience, you have to have a long-term vision,” Amos said.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com