Allegro Orchestra emerging with new sounds

Performance with rock band scheduled for Feb. 25 Central Valley - The Allegro Youth Orchestra is evolving with newer sounds this season. “Our concerts have opened the door for Allegro and its students to perform in such eminent locations as Steinway Hall in Manhattan, Eisenhower Hall and Lycian Centre,” according to Viktoras Prizgintas, who founded the orchestra more than 20 years ago. “Allegro has also joined forces with members from The New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Broadway as the orchestra continues to crafts and develops a new edge to its sounds. “Our mission to train and develop young artists has taken on a unique path and is greatly enhanced with new artists in Pan.a.ce.a, a well-established rock band from central Pennsylvania.” On Sunday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m., Allegro will join forces with Pan.a.ce.a. at Monroe-Woodbury High School. Putting an orchestra, especially a string orchestra, together with a rock band, presents some daunting challenges. Since all of Pan.a.ce.a’s music has already been recorded, arranging the string parts means retro-fitting the parts into a finished product. “I wasn’t interested in just putting some string accompaniments together,” Prizgintas said, “but rather, I wanted to create a match where the orchestra was more than ‘second fiddle’ on stage. “The orchestra parts needed to be written with careful consideration about melodic content, harmonic structure and driving rock rhythms. The orchestra must rise to the level of the band and share the stage, otherwise what is the point.” Allegro has always challenged the definition of its classical sound as witnessed with their performance of “Folk Prayer” by Jon Werkin, a noted Broadway pianist/composer who lives in Warwick. “Jon heard Allegro perform at Eisenhower Hall in 2004 and was impressed by its ability and sound for a young ensemble,” Prizgintas said. “He presented the bold concept of his composition for jazz trio and string orchestra. It was extremely well received and can still be heard today on YouTube.” Last year’s performance of “Hoedown” with members of the Southern New York Jazz Quartet at Eisenhower continued to help shape this new direction towards jazz. More recently, Allegro has been aggressive in both recording and posting their results on YouTube. “A new generation has brought unique ideas and exciting tools to communicate and convey its creations,” Prizgintas said. “YouTube has become one of those tool that has greatly benefited Allegro in getting new projects and partners.” To hear some of Allegro’s performances, visit the YouTube Web site. Simply type “Allegro Orchestra” in YouTube’s search engine. For additional information, call 827-6498 or e-mail orch@optonline.net.