In Sunday’s (3/18) Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado), Kelly Dean Hansen writes, “When Rony Barrak, Lebanese master of the Middle Eastern tabla, or ‘darbouka,’ played with the Boulder Philharmonic in 2009, he mesmerized the audience with his original composition, called ‘Beirut Sensations.’ Since then, he and music director Michael Butterman have been in discussions about doing a companion piece. Saturday night at Macky Auditorium, Barrak returns to premiere that companion piece, appropriately titled ‘Boulder Sensations.’ … For the composition for darbouka and orchestra, Barrak chose orchestrations and melodies that he thought would match the mood of the city, but there are Middle Eastern flavors as well. ‘It has some styles that are like American movie music, and they are a reflection of the mountains,’ Barrak said. ‘The second movement is romantic and slow, and has a rain effect at the beginning,’ he continued. ‘It ends softly, with a solo violin. Then the third movement has a conversation between the darbouka and strings, with the players tapping on the wood of their instruments.’ … A second performer will also join the Phil for the concert, beat box artist Shodekeh. With the orchestra, he performs ‘Deadlock’ by composer Ruby Fulton.”
Posted March 20, 2012
