Musicians and audience members are seated near each other at the Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra’s recent InsideOut concert on Long Island, NY.
In Tuesday’s (3/12) This Island 360 (Long Island, NY), Jasmine Sellars writes, “The Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra captivated the hearts of the audience with their InsideOut concert of Beethoven’s No. 5 Symphony on Sunday. The special concert at Temple Emanuel of Great Neck marks the first time that InsideOut Concerts welcomed adult guests, after usually having an audience of children from Massapequa Public Schools and outside communities. The performance, led by music director and conductor David Bernard, featured an interactive experience between the orchestra, Bernard and the audience, which had the unique opportunity of sitting alongside the instrumentalists instead of the typical seating area in the house of a theater…. Bernard invited guests to be immersed in the musical journey, frequently asking questions about their thoughts and emotions in between small pieces of the four movements in Beethoven’s No. 5 Symphony. The show opened with an introduction of each section of the orchestra, presenting dozens of musicians who played in the string, wind and brass sections…. ‘It’s thrilling as a musician to have immediate feedback,’ president of the Massapequa Philharmonic and instrumentalist Jennifer Trested said. ‘The piece ends and then people turn to you and tell you how they feel.’ ”
