In glamorous gowns and dapper attire, the Pikes Peak Wind Symphony of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association sat with reeds ready. For the first portion of the Distinguished Concerts of International New York (DCINY) presentation “Mainly Mozart,” Pikes Peak lifted the audience through an aural quatrain featuring Julie Giroux’s “Khan,” Robert Sheldon’s “Art in the Park,” Eric Whitacre’s “Cloudburst,” and James Barnes’ “Danza Sinfonica.” Under the direction of Richard Kusk, Pikes Peak filled Carnegie Hall and presented a refreshing take on the classical aesthetic san-strings. Fluid notes from oboes, clarinets, flutes and more scaled the tiers of the Perelman Stage.
A well-crafted program, “Mainly Mozart” rooted the exhilaration of Pike Peak’s performance into a bombastic delivery of Mozart’s Vesperae de Dominica and Vesperae solennes de Confessore. Four featured vocalists raised le bon mots above the harmonious foundation provided by the Distinguished Concerts Singers International and the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra. Within six movements of each vesper, DCINY demonstrated the rigid liturgical requests made of these compositions as expressed through Mozart’s dramatic passion. Arias fluttered and horse-hair bows see-sawed as the audience sank into contemplation of spiritual things and beautiful music.
