Texan Mosaic

by: DARIELLA HERNANDEZ/Editorial Assistant

The lights dimmed, the crowd was silent, anticipating the grand finale. As the orchestra played a tango, the dancers performed intensely, symbolizing the devil’s triumph over the humble, gullible soldier.

The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by a narrator and dancers, performed along to a classic French story which delivered a powerful message to the audience.

The LSO held their Winter Chamber show on Feb. 9 at the Legacy Event center in Lubbock.

The event began at 7:30 p.m., filled with an interesting storyline, powerful music, and talented dancers.

Mary Saathoff, president and CEO of the Lubbock symphony, introduced the show.  As Saathoff took the stage, the crowd gave a round of applause in honor of commencing the night’s event.

Once Saathoff introduced those featured in the night’s show, David Cho, music director, along with his symphony and the narrator, took the stage.

The Winter Chamber began with the orchestra playing suspenseful, yet playful, music. As the orchestra played on, the narrator made his way toward his stand. The narrator was going to be reading the story “L’Historie Du Soldat.” The first part began with the introduction of the main character, a soldier. The soldier was returning home after serving in the Army.

As the soldier is walking along, he meets a strange man. The man approaches the soldier and asks him for a trade of the soldier’s violin for the man’s book. In the background, the orchestra begins playing soft, yet suspenseful, music.

The man later reveals that he is the devil, and everything he will ever need is in the book. The soldier ponders and denies the offer at first. At this time, the orchestra comes in playing sinister music to accompany the devil’s deceit.

The soldier then falls into the devils’ trap and trades his violin for the book, which he later notices brings him no good.

After the soldier complained about the book, the devil appeared once again. The devil was trying to convince the soldier that the book would give him fortune.

In between the plays, the orchestra would enter the story with emphasis on the violinist, as well as the tango-like rhythm.

The music played by the orchestra also emphasized the high points of the story, such as the appearance of the devil, his trade offer, and the soldier’s acceptance of the offer.

The dancers made an appearance after the first act and danced along to the tango played by the orchestra.

In the second act, the soldier becomes possessed by the devil through his violin. The devil tricks the soldier into giving him all he has. The violin plays a sinister tune, and the devil dances to it.

The show was wrapped up with the devil doing his triumphant march. After the show, the audience gave a round of applause to the symphony, the director, the narrator, and the dancers.

Overall, the atmosphere brought on by the symphony was that of suspense. The symphony played along perfectly with the story, making it seem as if it was telling the story with music.