Michael Cameron is Professor of Double Bass at the University of Illinois and a free-lance writer, having contributed over 300 reviews for the Chicago Tribune, Fanfare, and American Record Guide.

Under the banner “Fantasia”, Midwest Young Artist’s splendid program Saturday at the Harris Theater was a salute to the 1940 Disney film, an event with potent memories for parents in the audience, and still the benchmark for classical music in film.  MYA’s Symphony Orchestra performed three works used in the film, and the Big Band and Chorale added several more numbers from outside Disney’s purview. 
 
The three ensemble leaders gave succinct and informative oral introductions, a welcome change from the distancing silence or long-winded commentary that seem to be the only two alternatives in most musical affairs. And no, it is not a heresy to perform in late December without a Christmas theme. Yuletide fare appeared in the main program only in an Estonian carol (Uisutamas, or “skating”), sung with understated grace by the mid-sized chorus under the direction of Gordon Krauspe.

The singers also gave affecting, dulcet accounts of a traditional spiritual, “Calling My Children Home”, and “Adorable Flujo” by Gabriel Navar and Paul Basler. Daryl Runswick’s arrangement of Rossini’s “Overture to the Barber of Seville” (imagine an Italian incarnation of the Swingle Singers) is a bit too cheeky for my taste, but the choir threw themselves into the exercise with rapid-fire consonant bursts that gave their tongues a work-out. 

MYA director Allan Dennis opened the concert with Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” in the reknowned Leopold Stokowski arrangement.  The famed conductor’s reconstructions of music of the master are considered to be serious infractions of Baroque protocol by many modern listeners, but Dennis’ considered and convincing reading reminded us that these re-workings can co-exist peaceably in our concert life along side historically based performances.

Paul Dukas’ “Sorcerer's Apprentice” became such a well-worn chestnut that it now seems underappreciated and underperformed.  Few pieces can evoke a dream-scape like this tone poem, and the young orchestra brought the familiar tale it to life in vivid technicolor hues. Likewise the finale of Respighi’s  “Pines of Rome” brought shivers of pleasure with its signature massive crescendo, second in fame only to the similar arc of Ravel’s “Bolero”. The brass were splendid, as were English horn player Lauren Williams and bassoonist Sam Stewart.

Young jazz players find themselves in a sticky predicament when trying to present themselves in venues typical for their genre, since jazz clubs are off limits to underage performers.  Nic Meyer’s jazz band didn’t need the trappings of a dark smoky club and the clinking of drink glasses to lend their offerings an authentic air.

Highlights form their uniformly strong set were two numbers from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, “I Got Plenty Of Nuttin” and “Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way”. The personnel was solid and mature well beyond their years, with especially strong contributions from bassist Daniel Carson, drummer Ethan Kogan, and alto sax soloist Neil Carson.

The audience added their voices to a sing-along version of Leroy Anderson’s "A Christmas Festival", a salute to the pops stalwart’s centennial celebration.

MYA’s orchestra was a fine group when last I heard it a few years back, but judging by Saturday’s display of high artistry, it has made considerable strides in that short span. It took scarcely more than a decade for Midwest Young Artists to grow from a fledgling single-ensemble embryo into the premier area hub for pre-college professional music training.

Yet it would be wrong for area music lovers to consider the organization simply a premier training ground for young artists.  As their reach encompasses ever more top tier performances spaces like the Harris Theater and Orchestra Hall, serious music fans should consider them a viable alternative to the local line-up of world-class professional ensembles.