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The Etowah Youth Orchestras is always looking for something new and different to offer to its audience. That's why, when EYO Music Director Michael R. Gagliardo struck up a conversation with Mark Wood, a maker of electric string instruments and the Concertmaster of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the conversation felt so natural.
"Mark and I are both on the same page in our philosophies," noted Gagliardo. "We both believe that music education is about teaching students about ALL genres of music. There is valuable musical information that can come from every style of music. It's all about knowing how to educate your students, while at the same time giving them music that they love to play and can relate to." The EYO already had an established tradition during the holiday season - the annual EYO Holiday Pops Concert. For nine years, with the help of local sponsors The Exchange Bank of Alabama and Riverview Regional Medical Center, the EYO had presented a fam- ily-friendly holiday spectacular. Past perform- ances had ranged from straight-ahead tradition- al Christmas tunes to performances of The Nutcracker and the music of Mannheim Steamroller with the dance students of the Gadsden Community School for the Arts. The Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra had even presented a silent-film version of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," a first-of-its-kind pro- duction where the animated special was shown on the giant movie screen in the performance venue while the orchestra, a choir, narrators, and a sound effects team sat behind the screen and provided all of the sounds. Now it was time for something different yet again. "I was actually introduced to the music of the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra by family members and stu- dents," Gagliardo said. "I was really taken by the great combination of rock and roll and orchestral sounds. I knew this was something that we could do, and that our students and our audience would enjoy." When Gagliardo mentioned the idea to Mark Wood, he jumped on it. "'Yeah, we can do that,' he said. He told me that he would get us permission to perform the tunes, and would help with the arrangements. I knew we had something." Gagliardo contacted the local band Rick And Tad, who had performed with the EYSO in the past on the orchestra's 4th Of July Pops Concert.
Terry "Tad" 42 ala breve
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The Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra Performs the Music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Micheal Gagliardo
Williams is actually an EYO parent, and was instantly hooked on the idea. Along with Williams and partner Rick Weaver, Gagliardo sat down and listened to the TSO music and selected the tunes for the performance. After getting permission through Wood to use the tunes, Gagliardo and Wood worked on the orchestrations for the EYSO, while Williams, Weaver, EYO alumnus Tim Carroll, and EYO members Devin Williams and David Green started practices on the rock band's portion of the show. Gagliardo did double duty. "I was the pianist in a garage band in high school. The TSO music has a lot of
The Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra photo courtesy of Sarah Cusimano Miles
piano, and I thought it might be fun to flash back to my high school days! So I passed the baton to EYO Associate Conductor Roland Lister, and sat down behind the key- board."
The results speak for themselves. On Sunday, December 18, complete with a full production light show and a complete rock and roll sound system, the EYO brought the music of the TSO to an enthusiastic audience at Wallace Hall on the campus of Gadsden State Community College. "We had a great time. The orches- tra had a lot of fun with the performance, and learned about a whole new aspect of performing." And the audi- ence? "They loved it! It was not what our audience expected," said Gagliardo.
Then again, that's what you can expect from the EYO - the unexpected.
Michael Gagliardo is Music Director and Conductor of the Etowah Youth Orchestras
February 2006
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