Over the years the Della Herman Theatre has hosted virtually every form of entertainment but one: the premiere of a symphony. That void has been spectacularly filled on Sunday, May 8.
The Salmon Symphony, titled “Fragile Magic,” by its composer, was hailed “a community celebration of wild Pacific salmon and the rivers they call home.”
It left the audience spellbound.
A little over a year ago Dorothy Giesbrecht, cellist extraordinary, commissioned Cameron Wilson, a Vancouver violinist and composer, to write a work for the Bulkley Valley Classical String Orchestra. But not just any work. The composition was to depict the life cycle of the Pacific salmon.
The result turned out to be a tone poem along the lines of Smetana’s “Moldau” or Schubert’s “Trout Quintet.” While that may seem far-fetched considering the different lengths of the works, the musical impact of Cameron Wilson’s symphony definitely merits the comparison.
The composition consists of seven sections depicting the salmon cycle: Birth Creek — Fry swim into open water — Smolts (young salmon migrating to the sea for the first time) — Where the river meets the sea — Homeward Migration — Fresh Water — Birth Creek (cycle begins again).
The symphony is scored for violins, violas, cellos, bass, piano, tympani, percussion, All Nations Drummers and a small choir. And as always, it was up to the performers to convey what the composer wanted us to hear.
Over the years Laura Hols-Wimbush has molded the BV String players into an entity that far surpasses amateur status. The flawless performance of the 28 players — seven of them from Terrace — allowed the audience to truly immerse itself in the unfolding drama.
What I had previously considered a humdrum occurrence, suddenly took on a whole new dimension. (That feeling echoed the composer’s reflection that “the work has evolved into something more than I ever imagined.)
As the symphony ended — softly, as it had started — my mind, unbidden, turned to Voltaire’s timeless aphorism: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
That the standing ovation was well deserved is an understatement.
Walter Hromatka occasionally writes guest opinion pieces for The Interior News
