This delightful musical adventure is a field trip into ETV Classics! Written, directed and produced by Sidney Palmer, this well-thought-out production at The Peace Center in Greenville, SC, was conducted by David Pollitt and designed to introduce students to classical music by coupling the orchestral music with known musical experiences that they would enjoy. A variety of connected musical sequences captivated the young audience.
From the moment that the conductor swooped down from the eaves in Batman costume to the Batman Theme, to the moment that the conductor drove off on a Kawasaki motorcycle at the conclusion of the concert to the strains of the William Tell Overture, the audience was thoroughly engaged in the proceedings. In addition to the symphonic offerings, the students enjoyed a performance the Tabernacle Baptist Choir, Dixieland provided by the Patrick Street Stompers, Suzuki Strings offering up the Orange Blossom Express, and Rapper Solomon Peterson "King Sol" taking over the stage.
Filled with special lighting effects and the excitement of the unexpected, you won't want to miss this blending of the symphonic with the culturally relevant, such as the Theme of James Bond, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and so much more. After the performance, the students and their teachers were asked how they liked the performance, and responses were overwhelmingly positive. From beginning to end, this special performance hit all the marks, and we hope that you will enjoy it as much as the teachers and students did. As for me, well, I just loved it!
Side Notes
- Sidney Palmer - Known for the Cinematic Eye (1978), Great Performances (1971), and The Last Savage (1981).
- Sidney Palmer obituary 1928 - 2016.
- David Pollitt - Conducting of Circumnavigation. "Alone again before a powerful force, he swayed between risk and control in that space, known to circumnavigators and conductors, that lies between catastrophe and rapture."
