Binghamton Community Orchestra opens 35th season with ‘Bach to the Future’

Come hear Tayler Otis, the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, and the Binghamton Community Orchestra (BCO) perform together in “Bach to the Future” on Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Binghamton East Middle School Auditorium, located at 167 E. Frederick St. in Binghamton.

The performance is sponsored by Weis Markets, and tickets, available at the door, are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and children under 12 are admitted free. 

After a few hundred programs conducting the orchestra music of the great masters, one might think that Binghamton Community Orchestra conductor Timothy Perry would find the exercise a matter of routine.  

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Perry says.  

He continued, “Performing music, theater or dance of the greatest creative artists is always a question of re-creation, not mere execution. Great music, like great literature, can be re-visited over and over without exhausting its message, and none more so than Johann Sebastian Bach. Through the perfection of his technique and the depth of his expression, Bach repays exploration in all the ways we might hear him – Jazz, Reggae, Pop, Swingle Singers, Moog synthesizer – the possibilities seem endless! So creating an evening of transcriptions, adaptations and even parodies of Bach seemed an opportunity to refresh the way we hear these incomparable masterworks.”

The BCO’s Fall Concert is thus entitled “Bach to the Future”, and will feature The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton and Youth Solo pianist Tayler Otis in a smorgasbord Bach celebration. 

True Bach is represented by the Choral Fantasia that opens Bach’s Cantata 80 “A Mighty Fortress is Our God;” transcriptions of the Passacaglia in c minor by Leopold Stokowski, of Brahms’ setting of “There is a Rose in Flower” and Holst’s orchestration of the Fugue á la Gigue; and Camille Saint-Saens tribute to Bach in the first movement of his Piano Concerto No.2.

Rather outside these parameters the BCO and Madrigal Choir will also ‘dish out’ one of the most humorous – and skillful – parodies of Bach with the Grand Oratorio “The Seasonings” by P.D.Q Bach, the hilariously fictional last son of J.S. Bach created by Brooklyn composer Peter Schickele.  

This 20-minute work has outward references to Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons, but its text instead focuses on kitchen herbs and spices, with movement titles like ‘Bide Thy Thyme’ and ‘Open Sesame Seeds’.  

The hijinks are completed by an orchestra that includes kazoos, slide whistles, a ‘windbreaker’ (composed of mailing tubes), a ‘shower hose in D’, and a ‘tromboon’ (half trombone, half bassoon) completing/perverting what is otherwise a Bach Baroque orchestra. Madrigal Choir soloists include Kathy Starks, soprano; Theresa Lee-Whiting, alto; John Starks, tenor; and David Schriber, bass.

For the Madrigal Choir, this collaboration with the Community Orchestra is a part of their plan to “Celebrate!” their 40th season.  

Bruce Borton, artistic director of the choir since 2011, talks about the choir’s feeling of being drawn to “link up with other arts groups in the area. Artistically it is a very satisfying experience, and it certainly helps to widen our visibility to audiences beyond our usual patrons. The choir last cooperated (with the Community Orchestra) several years ago on the Jenkins Armed Man so it seems about time to re-visit the idea of a joint venture between our two groups.” 

The Binghamton Community Orchestra is glad to join in the choir’s celebration.

Pianist Tayler Otis, winner of the Southern Tier Music Teachers’ Association’s Concerto Competition, will be the featured guest soloist on this concert.  Otis has been playing piano for a long time. She began studying piano at the age of two and a half, inspired by “watching church pianists at an early age.”  

Those early muses were pianists Jackie Wilson and Julia Kinney, who played frequently in the church attended by Otis and her family. Otis went on to take lessons from Ms. Kinney, and continued with Beth Vieldhouse and Roger Hayden.

Otis was drawn to the piano because of its beautiful sound. She found that the physical nature of playing piano made it easy to for her express herself through the music. She loves that there is so much repertoire for the piano, “so much music to learn,” as she says.  

The question is then, with all of that wonderful music available to her, what pulled her to choose to perform the Saint-Saens Concerto with the BCO? In her answer, Otis explains that there are “so many exciting and emotional” passages – the piece is interesting, “fun to play,” and “really expressive.”

Otis began a more formal study of piano seven years ago, as a student of Margaret Reitz, traveling as much as an hour to her lessons, one-way, from her home in Wyalusing, Pa. She stated that she has, “truly excelled under her teaching.” Otis was selected, by audition at NEPAMTA to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2012. She performed at the Kirby Center in 2013. She has won the STMTA competition three times, and this month won third prize at the Bob Jones University’s National Piano Competition.

These days, one can find Otis, herself, playing for her church, where she has been church pianist since 2011. She tells us, “This is my favorite thing to do, and was absolutely thrilled when asked to do so.” 

Additionally, she tells us, she plays various benefit concerts with her sister, and she gives piano lessons, participates in competitions and does accompanying. Outside of music, she plays soccer, goes hunting with her dad, and loves spending time with family and friends.

Otis’s future plans include attending Bob Jones University to study piano performance. 

“My dream would be to travel to other countries to play and teach.”

For additional information about the concert, and the Binghamton Community Orchestra, visit http://binghamtoncommunityorchestra.org/.

For additional information about the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, visit www.madrigalchoir.com/.