Refreshing Winds at Kendal

Last Monday evening a group of talented student wind players from Denison University (complemented by a handful of Lakewood High School students and full-fledged adults) came to Kendal to entertain us. They succeeded. Performing in a variety of ensembles, they gave us pieces by Verdi, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Reicha, Praetorius, a number of contemporary composers whose names I didn't recognize, and that constant concert favorite, anon.

The variety in sonorities was startling. The concert opened with a French horn horn duet, and then, as other horn players joined for subsequent numbers, we were finally confronted with a horn quintet, playing that quintessential horn piece, a summons to hunting, and setting the metaphorical rafters of the Amelia Room ringing.

A brass quartet came next, with a concert tuba extending the range of rumbling sound downward at least another two octaves. Then came a flute trio, with a flighty piccolo extending the range at the other end, almost (it seemed) to the limits of human hearing. 

This group was followed by Denison's newest performance association, the Early Music Ensemble. The musicians were performing on fascinating instruments that are really the forebears of most of the orchestral instruments of today. As befit their title, they played sixteenth- and seventeenth-century music for us. The concert concluded with a flute nonet performing transcriptions of some lively, dance-worthy contemporary works.

When the students introduced themselves, we learned that they came from around the country, that their academic interests were arrayed across a number of majors (though mentions of Biology recurred frequently), and that some were already enjoying academic distinction – one, for example, had recently delivered a scholarly presentation at a national conference, and another has been awarded a Fulbright.

The cooperation between Kendal and Denison exists on many fronts and serves the interests of both institutions. But the occasions that bring the greatest joy to Kendal residents are those when Denison musicians and dancers perform at Kendal. There's nothing like youthful talent to delight our hearts and souls.