At Elizabethtown College, community is a large part of campus life and culture. The Elizabethtown College-Community Orchestra (ECCO) performed in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center Sunday afternoon. The concert featured both student members of the orchestra and members of the Elizabethtown community. Dr. J. Robert Spence, associate professor of music in the fine and performing
arts department, directed the group.
ECCO is the premier wind, string and percussion ensemble at the College. The group, comprised of 75 members, plays a variety of music for both string orchestra and full orchestra. Membership in the ECCO is available to all Etown students and requires no audition. Members of the community travel to campus from all over the Susquehanna Valley in order to perform and rehearse with the orchestra. “College-Community Orchestra was founded in 1971 and has involved community members ever since,” Spence said. “The community members help to increase the depth of the ensemble’s sound. That is particularly important in the string sections – violin, viola, cello and bass.”
The concert opened with W.A. Mozart’s “Overture to ‘The Magic Flute,” an epic piece that opens to Mozart’s comic opera, “The Magic Flute.” This work opens with the introduction of an adventurer, Tamino, who is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter, with whom Tamino falls deeply in love. However, Tamino discovers that the Queen herself is the villain, and he must undergo three tasks before claiming his love. The piece presents itself as the epitome of a romantic comedy.
Following the opening piece, Spence individually introduced and recognized the members of the community. A few of the community members of the orchestra were from Elizabethtown High School, while the rest were members of the surrounding community or Etown alumni. “Even now in this moment, I’m still struggling to put into words exactly what it is you’re about to experience tonight,” Spence said. “You’re here to hear some great music, and you shall.”
The next piece was Philip Glass’ “The Canyon,” a dramatic episode for orchestra. “The style of music he champions is called minimalism,” Spence said. Spence chose this minimalist piece for a very particular reason. “We are about to embark on a special week in the life of our country’s history by observing the assassination of our former president, John F. Kennedy,” he said. “Another president affected by assassination, Theodore Roosevelt, said, ‘Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory of defeat,’” Spence said. This piece was accompanied by a light show, put together by students working the light booth and with Technical Operations Director Barry Fritz.
After intermission in the second half of the concert, Johan Halvorsen’s “Entry March of the Boyars” was played, and Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” was next. The latter piece featured solos by junior Joanna Stauffer on piano, senior Cassia Beiler on violin and junior Etownian Photo Editor Katie Brumbach on violin. Jacques Press’ “Wedding Dance from Hasseneh” followed and featured Cassia Beiler and Gabriel Edwards on violin. To conclude the concert, “Smooth” by Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas was performed. This rock-heavy piece featured sophomore Frank Zarefoss on guitar, sophomore Cole Goodman on violin and Gabriel Edwards on violin.
“From time to time, I like to tell the students that I’m the one who writes the checks, but the ensemble is the one who cashes the checks,” Spence said. “In an ensemble like this, the individual performers bring their personal best every day. The orchestra is a terrific asset to the College.” Despite the community members not being on campus, Spence said that it doesn’t hinder the relations with the group. “Relationships are strong between the community members and Etown students. I’ve witnessed tearful goodbyes between the community members and soon-to-be-graduating seniors who had just finished performing their final concert performance. We are, most definitely, one group,” Spence said.
