USD’s Symphony displays talent for small crowd

The University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra impressed the few people who attended a free performance Oct. 19 with lots of musical

talent.

The group played a series of pieces from the 19th and early 20th century, including the famous “Unanswered Question” composed by Charles Ives. Ives masterpiece was similar to other songs played, covering a number of different areas of difficulty that progressed through life. An example of this can be seen in “The Gliding Girl Tango,” an upbeat tune which was then contrasted with “Aria: Oh warrior Grim,” a piece that is both adventurous and dark.

Symphony Director Rick Rognstad said the show was a terrific success and praised conductor Victor Yip and organist Wyatt Smith.

“The pieces I feel are the best representation of life and the mysteries and challenges we face in our lives,” he said.

Sophomore Donovan Barnes attended the show and said he thought the musicians had a lot of talent and that the show was “awesome.” He was, however, disappointed by the lack of attendance by other students, and felt that the performance was definitely deserving of a larger crowd. Only about a third of the seats in the auditorium were filled, but that did not curb the enthusiasm of those present.

The two pieces that garnered the largest applause from the audience during their performance was “Finlandia, Op 26, No. 7,” composed by Jean Sibelius and the final song of the night, “The Washington Post March,” written by John Philip Sousa.

“The Washington Post March” had more of a patriotic feeling to it, and overall received perhaps the loudest applause and the only standing ovation of the evening.

“Finlandia” featured a combination of loud trumpets and drum beats, similar to the sound of artillery fire and

battle.

Community member Jake Tremmel attended the show and said the march was the “Perfect way to end the performance,” and was the only song they could have performed to end the night at the high level it did.

“The unanswered question is the epitome of this theme for the show and is really the best way we could have started it all off,” Rognstad said. “It also gave us a chance to play two songs we didn’t get a chance to play at our last musical competition.”

Reach reporter Steven Campbell at [email protected].