…From the BPCO Assistant Conductor
When a group of musicians arrive for their first rehearsal, each musician has their own personal ideas and concepts of how a work should be played. However, the success of the ensemble is determined by how cunningly or masterfully its conductor is able to weave these single strands of thread into one whole seamless cloth.
As Assistant Conductor of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, I was lucky enough to witness, first hand, how Maestra Johnson transformed her Orchestra from a group of highly skilled professional musicians, having many different ideas and interpretive concepts, into a world-class ensemble with one cohesive musical soul.
At Black Pearl’s opening season concert “Denim and Pearls,” it was more than obvious that the soul of the orchestra- in all of its totality- had affected the audience in a very profound way.
The Sibelius was sublime. The Piazzolla —marvelously enchanting. And the Beethoven… spiritual ecstasy.
Even if you happened to miss the sense of euphoria that swept through the beautiful Philadelphia Cathedral — resonating from wall to wall, column to column – there’s no way you could have missed the multiple shouts of “bravo, bravo!” from the captivated and transfixed audience at the conclusion of each piece.
Congratulations Black Pearl!
-Jason Rodgers
