‘Mozart’s birthday’

    
Today is the 256th anniversary of the birth of Bro. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an apt occasion to remind the brethren of The Masonic Society’s New Jersey Second Circle that I’d like to organize a trip to see the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra this April for a performance of some of the great composer’s Masonic music.


Mozart at right.

The program for three performances during the last weekend of April will be:

Mozart: Masonic Funeral Music
Berg: Violin Concerto, “To the Memory of an Angel”
Danielpour: Kaddish (world premiere)
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3

This will be Friday, April 27 at NJPAC; Saturday the 28th at State Theatre in New Brunswick; and Sunday the 29th at Mayo PAC in Morristown.

I’m aiming for the Sunday concert because of the scheduling conflict with the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library’s second symposium on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism at Lexington, Massachusetts on Saturday.
    

‘Magic Flute in Morristown’

    

Conductor David Lockington lead the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

through its “Best of Mozart” repertoire Thursday night

at the Community Theatre in Morristown.

Masonry-wise, it was only the Overture of The Magic Flute on the program, but the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra was wonderful Thursday night at the Community Theatre in Morristown. In its “Best Of” series, the NJSO sampled seven Mozart pieces – symphonies, operas, and concertos – plus Mozartiana by Tchaikovsky.

The acoustics in this venue are sublime. I’ve attended all kinds of concerts in all kinds of halls, but this theater is very different. I close my eyes while listening, and it is not possible to discern from which direction the music comes to you. It just kind of descends upon you like a mist. The dominance of the strings made the sound even more ethereal. It really seemed to appear supernaturally within the ears.

With only The Magic Flute’s Overture to connect the event to Freemasonry (if you don’t know, The Magic Flute is the opera known for its heavy use of Masonic symbols and themes in its story) I’ll let the photos do the talking. The venue does permit non-flash photography, which I did not know, which is why I didn’t have a real camera, which is why I used my Maxwell Smart shoe-camera, which is why these photos look the way they do. Sorry about that, Chief.

Readying for the Adagio of Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Oboe, Horn, and Bassoon (K. 297b). From left: Principal Flute Bart Feller, Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner, Principal Horn Lucinda Lewis, and Principal Oboe Robert Ingliss.

A very affable conductor, David Lockington paused between pieces

to explain some musicology to his audience.