Benzie Symphony Orchestra to premier Manitou Winds compositions
From staff reports
On July 9, the Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra (BASO), under the direction of Tom Riccobono, will perform the world premiere of Ransom Lake and Platte Plains as part of their concert program featuring Manitou Winds. The concert will be held at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church (8190 Lincoln Rd, Beulah). Due to limited seating, there will be two performances at 4 and 7 p.m.
The Manitou Winds ensemble includes Jason McKinney, a composer and arranger of orchestral and chamber music who lives in Maple City; horn player and guitarist Laura Hood who lives in Cedar, as well as bassoonist Lauren Murphy, piccolo and flutist Sam Clark, clarinetist Anne Bara, and reader and narrator Jan Ross.
The compositions Ransom Lake and Platte Plains are part of McKinney’s larger work-in-progress, which he says, “aim to capture northern Michigan’s beautiful and complex landscapes through multiple artistic media. The July 9 performance with BASO is but a preview of the music I’ve begun to create for this large-scale project. It is a first step as I seek artistic collaborators to bring this project to life.”
McKinney explained that his role in this project, tentatively titled “Sanctuary Sketches,” is to compose music, from chamber music to full orchestral works, “based on my explorations of these natural places while journaling and collaborating with one or two visual artists who will work alongside me in a medium such as plein air painting, photography, or sculpture. I welcome any artists interested in being considered for the project to contact me for more details.
“The goal of Sanctuary Sketches is to celebrate and highlight a curated list of beloved natural locations in Northern Michigan while raising awareness for ongoing conservation efforts and inspiring both new and return visitors. The project would also explore how visual artists and composers approach the same subjects through differing perspectives and modes of expression.”
Ransom Lake and Platte Plains, will receive their world premiere on July 9 with the BASO. “Through collaboration with artists from other disciplines, the goal is to demonstrate how the combination of two or more art forms creates an even more powerful, immersive experience for an audience; inviting each of us to see these landscapes in new and enlightening ways.”
The BASO concert will also feature two additional original compositions from Manitou Winds: Laura Hood’s quartet, Happy Feet, and a lush new arrangement of McKinney’s composition The Old Ash Tree.
The BASO, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, will collect admission donations at the door. Suggested donations are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors; attendees 17 and under are always free.
