The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra led by Charles Latshaw continues their "Clap When You Feel Like It!" season with Tiaras and Tragedy.
The Tiara will be on the head of our violin soloist for Chappell Kingsland's Sympsony No. 2," notes Latshaw." The Tragedy of our title comes from the music Leonard Bernstein wrote for West Side Story based on the sad story of Romeo and Juliet."
"A violinist friend asked me to write him an arrangement of The Simpsons' theme as an encore," says composer Kingsland.  "I thought, that'll be funny and people will laugh but what else can I do?' Then, after a lot of brain storming I realized that the end of The Simpsons' theme sounds a little like the beginning of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. So my Sympsony No. 2 got started."
"It's a delightful piece that pokes fun at stuffy soloists and orchestras," says conductor Latshaw. "Our tiara wearing diva violinist is Rachel Patrick. In the piece she keeps trying to pull the music toward The Simpsons and I keep trying to pull it toward Beethoven. In the middle of the music, there's a transition from The Simpsons' theme into Beethoven that's so smooth that you don't realize the change until it whacks you. We're having a lot of fun with this piece."
Both the Bedford and the Bloomington concerts feature side-by-side efforts with students from the Bedford North Lawrence, Lighthouse Christian Orchestras and the Hoosier Youth Philharmonic.
nb...note change in Bedford location
Schafer Auditorium, Bedford Middle School, 1501 "N" Street, Bedford