“Thanks largely to the coronavirus pandemic, disrupted work, education, health care, the economy, relationships, social and political strife … we could all use a moment, a brief respite,” writes Mark Gibson in Monday’s (11/16) Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN). “The Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra delivers that moment. Every time. The Nov. 7 concert showcasing … Bach, Handel, Mozart and Haydn was no exception…. The orchestra [performed in] the spacious sanctuary of Maryland Community Church [where] smaller-than-usual contingent of musicians … were able to distance themselves…. A modest marvel came prior to the first selection, as a small group of string musicians, illustrating a point by … artistic director David Bowden, launched into a snippet of Pachelbel’s Canon without a count off, without orchestral tuning and perfectly on cue…. An oboe duo joined the strings for the jubilant Entrance of the Queen of Sheba … from the Handel oratorio Solomon. The lively interplay between the featured oboes (principal Rebecca McGuire and Jennifer Kirby) in this buoyant piece was mirrored moments later by the violin tandem of concertmaster Daniel Aizenshtadt and associate Henry Jenkins in the more reverent second movement of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins…. Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 … showcased [Principal cellist SeungAh] Hong’s wide-ranging dexterity.”
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