Placer County Youth Orchestra - "Carnival of the Animals"

Placer County Youth Orchestra presented an outstanding program March 16, 2014, at the Valley Springs Presbyterian Church in Roseville, CA. Margie Hartung, Artistic Director, with input from Wayland Whitney and Benjamin Hartung, Assistant Directors, selected a lively, exciting program which entertained the many youngsters in the full audience and thrilled the amazed and proud adults. Performers in the Jazz Band, the Intermediate Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra delivered performances of tight timing and smooth blending.

Every piece--from Baby Elephant Walk, Flop Eared Mule, The Waltzing Cat, to Peter and the Wolf –all were played expertly in a bouncy and colorful manner so that the music escorted each listener through a landscape of birds and critters.

The Suite from Swan Lake, by P.I. Tchaikovsky, was breathtaking. The Symphony Orchestra played with such sensitivity and passion, particularly in "Scene and Dance of the Swans." One just swam in the beauty and depth of this music, wanting it not to end. When one thought the music couldn’t get any better, the audience was treated to "Carnival of the Animals" by C. Saint-Saëns. Each of the fourteen segments was performed superbly under the exquisite direction of Wayland Whitney’s baton. Special mention is demanded for Benjamin Hartung; his cello sang and whispered its beauty in "The Swan" with maturity and understanding and deep feeling. So moving and exquisite! Such precision. Wayland Whitney then brought forth from the well-rehearsed Symphony Orchestra in "The Finale," a big, exhilarating finish. The audience loved it, slapping their hands together and rising in appreciation of the excellent and all-too-short hour of great music by three groups of Placer County young musicians. A great big “Thank You,” Marjorie Hartung, Artistic Director, for this gift of music.

-Letha Dawson