Henry Abbott

Melodies old and new danced through Studzinski Recital Hall during the Bowdoin Symphony Orchestra’s spring concerts on March 2 and 5. The concerts showcased a new piece: the debut of “Improvisation for Orchestra,” composed by applied music instructor Scott Martin.

The concert began with senior flautist Anya Workman’s concertino. A member of the orchestra since her first year at Bowdoin, Workman remarked on what it felt like to leave the stand and step into the spotlight.

“This has given me the chance to play with a group longer before the performing happens, had more rehearsal time and also the orchestra sound feels much more supportive,” Workman said. “And that’s been really cool, because it lets you do your thing over the top of this flowing orchestra.”

Workman, as a senior soloist, chose the piece for her own concertino, selecting Cécile Chaminade’s “Concertino for Flute Orchestra,” because it was the piece she used to audition for her high school orchestra, and she wanted to explore the piece further.

“It’s probably one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever heard,” Workman said. “I think it highlights a lot of the beautiful tone of the flute.”

Following Workman’s piece, the concert transitioned from the classical style of Chaminade to the contemporary, jazz-inspired melodies of “Improvisation for Orchestra.” The new piece premiered at the orchestra’s Sunday night concert. Martin, after decades of composing and reworking, reflected on finally hearing the piece performed.

“It was super validating. Because when you write for orchestra, before you’ve ever heard anything you’ve written played, you basically just have to imagine what it sounds like,” Martin said. “Hearing it [live] is like an experience that you can’t fully imagine.”

Originally, a second concertino was scheduled to follow Workman’s piece, but its performance had to be pushed to the upcoming May concert. During its first concert Sunday night, the orchestra filled the unexpected gap in the program by playing “Improvisation for Orchestra” twice.

“It’s always interesting to hear a piece you don’t know another time. You get a different impression, giving you a chance to hear things you maybe missed the first time. So considering we had to sort of turn on a dime and come up with a new strategy for the performance, because we had someone out, it went well,” Beckwith Artist-in-Residence and Bowdoin Symphony Orchestra Director George Lopez said.

Lopez hoped the audience appreciated the unusual opportunity to hear a piece twice, especially considering the uniqueness of Martin’s music with its strong influence in jazz.

“A new experience,” Lopez said. “We’re not only playing dead white men’s music, but we have living composers that we highlight and, many times, very diverse composers.”

Looking back on the concerts, Martin shared how he wants audience members and orchestra students alike to realize they can also compose and write music. He shared how his untraditional, long journey of composition should break down barriers people might see between them and their artistic passions.

“The idea that you can do things yourself,” Martin said. “I’m kind of a random guy who wrote a piece for orchestra, and they could do it too…. It doesn’t have to be this 100-year-old famous person whose music gets played…. It’s good to just have people be inspired to go out and try to do their own thing.”

Martin’s position as an applied music instructor involves teaching students, many of whom were there to support him.

“I know Scott Martin personally. He was my instructor for a music class a while back, so I wanted to come here to hear his piece and support him,” Mauricio Cuba Almeida ’27 said.

Rye Hughes ’28, another one of Martin’s students, noted the complexities of Martin’s piece.

“I thought it was really interesting how all the instruments work together,” Hughes said. “There’s kind of a back-and-forth.”

Workman wanted students who attended to get a musical respite during this very busy time of year.

“This is a really busy time for students,” Workman said. “So I hope that the concert is a chance to just sit back and enjoy the music and not have to stress…. And I hope people can just relax and hopefully enjoy what we have to share with them.”

The orchestra’s May concerts are scheduled for Sunday, May 4 and Wednesday, May 7 and will feature multiple senior concertinos—including the piece pushed from this concert.