The Amarillo Symphony is going interstellar for its November concerts.
The orchestra’s 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday concerts at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St., will feature Gustav Holst’s epic The Planets and other special treats.
Music Director George Jackson gave me a preview via email about performances, which also will include the U.S. debut of Dani Howard’s The Butterfly Effect and Claude Debussy’s Deux Nocturnes. Female singers from Canyon High School and the West Texas A&M University Chorale will be featured on both the Debussy and Holst compositions.
(This interview has been edited and condensed.)
Chip Chandler: Introduce “The Butterfly Effect” for us. How did you manage to secure a U.S. premiere of the piece?
George Jackson: Dani Howard is a composer who sits at the forefront of the younger generation in England, and I have been following her and her music for some time. Part of my job as music director is to keep tabs on the international scene, and where I can, place the Amarillo Symphony within that culture. I spotted that Dani’s new work had a few performances across Europe this season, so I pounced and managed to get the Amarillo Symphony in there first (in America), which is really exciting for us. It’s a gorgeous 10-minute orchestral work that paints the image of a butterfly flapping its wings, referring to the philosophical principle that small causes may have large effects. In this manner, we hear small units of melody that start the piece, and then develop organically to create the whole. I also have in mind our founder, Grace Hamilton, whose small action in 1924 in organizing the Amarillo Symphony’s first concert has led to a 100-year symphonic tradition.
CC: What are you hoping audiences get out of the pairing of the Debussy and Holst works?
GJ: The biggest link is that both works use wordless female choruses, which is an unusual but beautiful addition. Whilst Holst takes us into outer space, Debussy paints the clouds on earth, followed by the mythological story of Sirens and the Sea. I felt it was important to add some aspect of Planet Earth to our concert, despite Holst not having written a movement for Earth, and Debussy’s Nocturnes do that perfectly.
CC: Talk about the performance of “The Planets.” It sounds like it’s going to be quite a production?
GJ: The Planets alone is a once-in-a-blue-moon spectacle, because Holst writes for a very large orchestra, drawing upon enormous forces onstage. I am convinced that much of his orchestration style sets the foundation for a lot of later movie music composers, so if you like the big, epic, dramatic sounds that you might hear in Star Wars or similar, you will love “The Planets.” I am also so excited that Jason Crespin, the managing and artistic director of the Amarillo Little Theatre, has agreed to collaborate with us for the first time. He has written an original script introducing each planet during the performance, giving listeners a chance to reflect on how Holst has captured the character and atmosphere of each planet. This is a unique opportunity to experience the drama and storytelling that Amarillo Little Theatre does at such a high level, within the context of a symphonic concert.
Tickets are $30 to $80. Call 806-376-8782.
This week’s other can’t-miss options:
Amarillo College Jazz: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; AC Experimental Theatre on the Washington Street campus; 806-371-5340
Falling into Dance: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; Happy State Bank Studio Theatre in WT’s Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex; tickets $15 adults, $10 seniors and students; 806-651-2810
Amarillo Wranglers: 7:14 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex Coliseum, 401 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $21 to $32; 806-378-3096
Colton Amerson: 8 p.m. Friday; Old Tascosa Brewing Co., 3100 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-681-4050
Cameron James Smith: 9 p.m. Friday; The Western Horseman, 2501 E. Interstate 40; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Amarillo Collector Expo: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; Amarillo Civic Center Complex, 401 S. Buchanan St.; tickets $10 adults, $5 children; 806-378-3096
ALT Karaoke Party: 7 p.m. Saturday; Amarillo Little Theatre Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle; admission $10, $5 or higher per song; 806-355-9991
The Blue Johnnies: 9 p.m. Saturday; Hoots Pub, 2424 Hobbs Road; cover
The Shane Rogers Band: 9 p.m. Saturday; The Western Horseman, 2501 E. Interstate 40; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Sweater Godz with Generation Behind: 9 p.m. Saturday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover
Amarillo’s Original Toy Run: 11 a.m. Sunday; Tripp’s Harley-Davidson, 6040 W. Interstate 40; 806-352-2021
Movie options:
New releases: The year’s biggest sequel, Wicked: For Good, finally swoops into theaters and … it’s … good-ish? It’s not my favorite musical, but last year’s first installment surprised me. Part two? Not so much. The material’s just weaker after Elphaba defies gravity. The great Cynthia Erivo doesn’t have as much to dig into, and bless her for bringing any depth at all. Ariana Grande, though, is quite impressive. Also opening: actioner Sisu: Road to Revenge.(Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square)
Special engagements: The Boy and the Heron (Tuesday and Wednesday, Cinemark Hollywood 16); The Polar Express and A Christmas Story double feature (Friday and Saturday, Tascosa Drive-In, 1999 Dumas Drive)
