Television and Radio appearances
RPO will play a floating pops concert
Eric Waugh to capture Orchestra on canvas
John Pitcher Staff writer (April 5, 2006)
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will turn its upcoming Symphony Showhouse into a showboat. Actually, make that a showbarge.
On June 4, the RPO will take to the water, performing a free pops concert in Fairport while floating on a tethered New York state barge.
The performance will take place during Fairport Canal Days weekend and help the orchestra kick off its biennial Showhouse fundraiser, which this year will be at Fairport's historic Deland House (otherwise known as the Green Lantern Inn, 1 E. Church St.) from June 2 to 25.
Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik and his orchestra won't be the only ones on board the 120-by-30 foot barge on the Erie Canal. Eric Waugh, a noted Canadian-born artist, will paint the orchestra as it plays. His painting, which will be photographed and turned into a limited edition, autographed print, will be auctioned off after the performance.
"This is the first time we've had the full orchestra perform at a Showhouse," said RPO President Richard Nowlin. "What this performance is intended to do is increase the orchestra's profile in the community and take its fundraising to the next level.
" There's little doubt that the performance will help bolster the RPO's community presence. In recent years, summer fests have proved to be successful little engines of economic development and revitalization for towns along the Erie Canal. Last year, Canal Days alone drew more than 200,000 visitors.
The RPO hopes to tap into that popularity, since it wants to attract at least 7,000 people to this June's Showhouse and raise more than $109,000. All proceeds of the fundraiser, including the auction of the Waugh painting and sale of prints, will go to the orchestra's education and outreach programs.
Tyzik has always been a fixture at the RPO's Showhouse, though in past years his performances have usually been limited to the preparation of elaborate meals (on top of being a conductor, composer, arranger and trumpeter, Tyzik is also a gifted chef).
Because of his hectic guest conducting schedule this year, however, Tyzik will be cooking only with the RPO on the barge, performing everything from Rossini's "William Tell" Overture and Copland's "Hoedown" to John Williams movie themes and jazz and pop standards. He'll also conduct one of his own pieces, Pleasant Valley for narrator and orchestra.
"I have to admit I've conducted the RPO in a lot of places before, but never on a barge," said Tyzik. "It's exactly the kind of thing we need to be doing, getting the orchestra out to the public so they can see what we can do.
" This year the public will not only be able to see it but take it home, in the form of a Waugh print. Waugh is perhaps best known as the Guinness Book of Records holder for the world's largest painting on canvas, a 41,000-square-foot work called Hero. It was painted to benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation and Camp Heartland in Minneapolis, a summer camp for children with HIV and AIDS.
The artist, who works in the vivid primary colors favored by the great 20th-century French master Henri Matisse, also specializes in painting musicians performing.
His past subjects have included such artists as Tony Bennett, the Doobie Brothers and Jefferson Starship. "I like to paint musicians spontaneously, with as little preparation as possible, like an improvisation," Waugh said. "It's the best way to capture their energy."
