Daniel Wang, Contributing Photographer

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra returned to Woolsey Hall after three years to perform Anna Clynne’s “Masquerade,” Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto no.1” and Saint-Saens’ “Symphony no.3” 

On Sept. 28, audiences packed Woolsey Hall as they were greeted by New Haven Symphony Orchestra president Keith Churchwell — also president of Yale New Haven Hospital — who received a welcoming ovation as he announced the orchestra’s return to Woolsey Hall.

The symphony programmed three pieces of their classical musical repertoire, featuring pianist Joyce Yang and organist Nathaniel Gumbs MUS ’11. Due to previous gathering restrictions wrought by COVID-19, This night marked the first time in three years that the New Haven Symphony Orchestra performed at the University. 

“What’s the right tone to strike?” New Haven Symphony Orchestra musical director Alasdair Neale MUS ’85 asked in reference to one of the pieces. “What’s the right piece to say to everybody that we are back in Woolsey Hall?” 

As the fourth-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra has performed in the New Haven area since its first concert in 1895. Its close relationship with Yale, stemming from its inclusion of faculty from the School of Music, cemented Woolsey Hall as one of its historical home bases. 

The return to Woolsey left the musicians feeling “relieved” and “glad,” said New Haven Symphony violinist Oliver Leitner ’23 MUS ’26.

Such an occasion inspired Neale, former conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, in his programming of the concert, where themes of triumph and celebration reigned, particularly in “Masquerade.”

“The piece is all about a musical party, a celebration of people gathering together in music,” said Neale. “I thought that sparked the right notes to speak in the beginning of the evening.” 

The concert began with a harsh clap from a whip followed by a chromatic frenzy in the strings. Written for the last night of the 2013 British Broadcasting Corporation Proms — an eight-week season of daily classical musical concerts — “Masquerade” by Anna Clynne was Neale’s choice to start off the night’s celebratory music.

Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto features some of the most iconic melodies in the classical music repertoire. Written in 1875, it fit Neale’s criteria of wanting to program a “Romantic crowd-pleaser,” he said.

Neale first fell in love with the piece after hearing it when he was 11 years old. It was one of the first times that music made him “swoon,” he said.

World-renowned soloist Joyce Yang, the second-prize winner of the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, is no stranger to this piece. Having played it for 20 years, Yang described the piece as an “old friend.”

“As a young student, you try to climb the Mount Everest of technical challenges,” Yang said. “Once you more-or-less conquer that, the piece starts opening up to you in a lyrical way. There is great lyricism and poetry that is really the heart of the piece.” A special moment in Tchaikovsky comes at the end of the third movement, where the piano soloist performs in near unison with the orchestra after intense musical drama between different instruments beforehand. The result was a powerful ending that led to a standing ovation from the audience.

The second half of the concert opened up with Saint-Saens’ 3rd Symphony, dubbed the “Organ Symphony” due to the inclusion of an organ in two of its four sections. The performance featured Gumbs, the Director of Chapel Music at Yale, and was one of the first pieces Neale planned for the recital. 

Gumbs was a “perfect match” for this concert, Neale said, as he hoped to incorporate the Yale organ community into the program, and the choice of performing the Saint-Saens with Gumbs seemed “obvious,” Neale said.

Neale remains optimistic about the future of the orchestra, despite uncertainties caused by COVID-19.

“I want us to feel like we’ve finally, finally emerged from any cloud of the pandemic,” Neale said. “This was a healthy, robust size audience. I hope that trend will continue for the rest of the season, because our audience is our lifeblood.”

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will be performing again in Woolsey Hall on Oct. 26, featuring Grammy-winning trio “Time for Three.”