It was a first for the Victoria Symphony Splash. On Sunday night, 16-year-old Ben Parker made history as the first trumpet soloist in the outdoor concert’s 26-year history.
The Victoria teen’s debut was a challenging one: Alexander Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto in A Minor. It’s a showy, dramatic work demanding much of any trumpet player and is often selected as an audition piece for the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.
Happily, the young man was up for the challenge. Conducted by the Victoria Symphony music director Tania Miller, Parker displayed sharp technique and a rounded tone, impressing especially during the work’s extended cadenza. It was a confident performance, especially noteworthy given the evening chill would have made staying in tune a chore for Parker and the entire orchestra.
Parker’s performance met with enthused applause from a huge crowd at the Inner Harbour.
“That’s awesome,” said one teenage audience member.
The weather had cooled significantly after a hot summer afternoon. Nonetheless, the audience’s spirits seemed high as clouds dissipated and a golden, autumn-like sun lit the barge-stage, populated with white-suited musicians.
In introducing the evening, conductor Miller declared the concert is all about dance, noting that the program was stuffed with waltzes, polkas and tangos. Fittingly then, she exhorted the audience to dance.
“Imagine this beautiful harbour is our elegant and grand ballroom,” Miller said.
And the crowd did dance. Couples waltzed on the causeway, earning cheers from spectators. Boaters who had floated in also managed a cautious turn or two.
Before the orchestra performed, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps encouraged people to enjoy “the best concert in the best city, I’d say, in British Columbia and Canada.”
The other soloist was 18-year-old Rebecca Bracewell, who was the Symphony Splash’s first accordionist. She played two pieces by Argentinean tango master Astor Piazzolla: Libertango and Oblivion. Bracewell is a gifted musician who played with great fluidity and technical skill. It’s true that, at times, her accordion couldn’t be heard as well as Parker’s trumpet -- at least from the lawn of the Legislature. Still, it was an impressive performance from a talented young musician. And the music’s South American flavour created a wonderfully evocative summertime atmosphere.
Among the crowd were James Byers and his wife, Kathleen, who seemed to have scored the primo viewing spot. The Toronto couple sat in folding chairs, on the causeway, directly in front of where the Victoria Symphony performed
James, a 66-year-old wearing Bootsy Collins-style star sunglasses, said his son-in-law Mike Hill arrived at 6:30 a.m. to secure them. It was one of the best vantage points for Victoria’s largest outdoor concert.
“We arrived here on the best weekend, the blue moon and the symphony. And seeing our grandkids,” said Kathleen.
The crowds thronged, but in a well-behaved, cheerful way. There were moms with strollers, seniors with canes, teens, tourists. Kayakers, canoeists and motor-boaters floated up to take their spot near the barge where the orchestra and other entertainers performed.
In the afternoon, the sun shone brilliantly. This meant umbrellas and half-shell tents on the lawn of the legislature. This meant Tilley hats, short-shorts and sunglasses. Business was brisk at a lemon-shaped hut that sold the sort of drink one might expect at a lemon-shaped hut.
A grey-haired woman manning one of the Victoria Symphony’s donation barrels said the stream of coins and bills was “pretty good.”
The show started at 4 p.m. with the event’s opening act, The Midnights, who started off with the Staple Singers’ I’ll Take You There. The teenage lead singer explained she wasn’t yet born when the 1972 tune was a hit. The Midnights’ sound bounced merrily against the 19th-century legislature buildings, creating a 1.5-second echo as Pharrell’s Happy and the Jackson Five’s I Want You Back ping-ponged between barge and stone walls.
Some listened to the music, others chatted, a few napped, others scarfed ice cream or ketchup-slathered hotdogs purchased from food trucks. Some perched on a grassy knoll, respectfully avoiding yellow flower beds that spell: “Welcome to Victoria.” A man with a clutch of telescopes sat beside a hand-lettered sign that said: “View the sun, safe and free.”
Another couple, Helen Schuckel, 76, and Bill Schuckel, 78, said they’d travelled from Duncan to join in the fun. Their son reserved their spots right in front of the barge at 6:30 a.m. Helen said she had attended the Splash every year except for two.
The sun was bright, but the couple weren’t worried about about over-exposure. “Well, we’re so old, we don’t burn now,” Helen said with a smile.
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Quick Facts
The 26th Victoria Symphony Splash had a $300,000 budget.
The fireworks cost $10,000. The display called for 60 three-inch shells, 50 four-inch shells, 40 five-inch shells and 25 six-inch shells, ignited from Songhees Point with an electronic device
Four cannons loaned by Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, were part of the show. The cannons were operated by cadets in full dress uniform. The cadets received their cue to fire via cellphone
There were 46 porta-potties on shore and two on the barge.
The barge contained a whisper-quiet electrical generator (the type used on movie sets) for lights and sound. There were 60 microphones, scaffolding and 30 speaker cabinets weighing 450 pounds each. A 40-by-60-foot tent custom was made for the 120-by-40-foot barge (there also was a custom-made staircase linking the wharf to the barge).
There were 300 volunteers. Although police were on site, volunteers handled the bulk of the security/ audience-relations duties. It was a first for the Victoria Symphony Splash.
