Saturday’s 42nd annual Giralda Music and Arts Festival was dubbed “Giralda, An Evening of Pure Imagination.”
A more apt title might have been “An Evening of Pure Invention — of Necessity.”
In a perfect world, Morris Arts would have welcomed hundreds of picnickers to Madison’s bucolic Giralda Farms for a concert by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on this spectacular June afternoon.
But circumstances prompted a shift indoors, to the Annunciation Center of Saint Elizabeth University in nearby Morris Township.
The NJSO’s hoary mobile bandshell caught fire after a concert at Liberty State Park last summer and has not yet been replaced. No bandshell = no outdoor concerts, Morris Arts officials say they were told a few weeks ago.
Patti French, who became executive director of the nonprofit just last month, had to move fast to salvage this signature fundraiser.
“We didn’t know until six weeks ago if this was going to happen at all,” French said on Saturday. “We decided we really couldn’t do Giralda as it had always been done. We were really disappointed, so we decided to create it a little bit differently.”
AN INTIMATE AFFAIR
The result was an intimate affair. Combined, the 60-piece orchestra, Morris Arts board members, and featured artists appeared to outnumber guests, who paid $125 for tickets that cost $25 last year. Absent were families that used to compete for prizes for best-themed food tents at Giralda Farms.
Those who did attend were treated to crudités and extra music, with the superior acoustics of the Annunciation Center’s modern Dolan Hall.
Ecuadorian guitarists Carlos Chong and Lenin Pazmiño and George Attisano of the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society provided atmosphere. BLUES People, a favorite act at the Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival, packed some punch.
Led by guest conductor Kyle Ritenauer, the NJSO delivered rousing works by Bernstein, Copland, Ellington, Sousa and Stravinsky, plus a lively tribute to pandemic healthcare workers, Susan Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout.
Ritenauer and the orchestra also made a compelling case for John Williams’ place among immortal composers: His Star Wars theme was as instantly recognizable as Beethoven’s Fifth.
And the set came with a visual twist. Artist Serena Bocchino has synesthesia, a phenomenon that enables her to “see” sounds. Imagine a conductor’s baton spewing vibrant colors and patterns. That’s what Bocchino’s brushes did, swirling acrylic paint onto a translucent canvas, projected behind the musicians.
“It’s just very progressive and organic that I just suddenly see things in the atmosphere,” said the Somerset County artist.
She grew up thinking everyone experienced music this way.
“I’d go to a concert and say, ‘Oh my God, wasn’t that amazing? Couldn’t you see all the things?’ I didn’t think it was unique.”
NO BUG SPRAY OR SUNSCREEN NEEDED
This wasn’t Giralda’s first foray indoors. A stormy forecast once pushed the daylong festival into a Parsippany mega-church; another year, the venue was a hockey rink. Like the weather, the event’s future is up in the air.
Rob Bradshaw, NJSO director of orchestral operations, said the symphony hopes to resume outdoor shows next summer with a new $1 million mobile bandshell. But planned development at Giralda Farms could cloud that picture, according to Morris Arts.
Anya Kumar, a 24-year-old consultant from Short Hills, found a lot to like at the Annunciation Center.
“It’s nice to have air conditioning and less bugs, and… since there’s so much art, it’s nice to see it with kind of stable lighting,” she said.
And the campus at Saint Elizabeth University is pretty bucolic, too. (Picnickers enjoyed many summers of Shakespearean productions at its amphitheater.)
Morris Arts President Merle Johnson floated the idea of a hybrid festival — inside and outside, maybe spanning two days.
“I think we’re going to try to do a combination,” Johnson said.
“We certainly do not want to give up on outdoor events. That’s what we do — we do outdoor events for the community — but I think having an indoor option is also a great way to go… so check back with me in six months; I’ll be able to tell you.”
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source morristowngreen.com ’
