The Florida Orchestra musicians will play more than 130 concerts in the 2018/19 season, but which ones are they looking forward to the most? As the season gets ready to launch at the end of September, we asked musicians for their concert picks. Here are Principal Percussionist John Shaw’s thoughts. Click on each title for more information on the concert.
Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess selections
(On A Child of Our Time concert, Nov. 9-11)
I love playing this music, and I never get tired of listening to it. Porgy is the quintessential American opera, and everything Gershwin put into it is masterfully done – heartfelt, beautiful, poignant melodies and lyrics with great orchestration. In addition, if you’re wondering what kinds of things percussionists have to play to get an orchestra job, the opening sequence for xylophone is on every audition!
I’m also looking forward to continuing our Harry Potter film projects, along with the Star Wars movies. John Williams’ music is always fun (as well as incredibly busy!) for percussionists.
