As the holiday season approaches, audience members will fill the Elsie C. Brackett Theatre to watch OU dancers tell the story of “The Nutcracker” through movement and emotion. However, tucked just in front of the stage past the metal railing surrounding the pit, are 90 of the university’s most talented musicians: the OU Symphony Orchestra.
Once every four years, the orchestra collaborates with the OU School of Dance to bring live accompaniment to the university’s production of “The Nutcracker,” including this year's production of the favored holiday ballet.
At showtime, the synched movement of each rosin-lined bow aligns with the flick of the conductor’s baton, and the orchestra begins. The rise and fall of the musicians’ breath is noticeable in their bellies and their eyes flutter across lines of sheet music as the music invites the curtain to rise and the dancers to enter.
OU Symphony Orchestra during rehearsal for "The Nutcracker" on Nov. 27.
Dancers may be the focal point of “The Nutcracker,” but the grand-scale production is a collaboration of work and talent both in front of and behind the curtains.
Lights, costumes and sets wouldn’t be possible without designers and crew. The show would not run without a stage manager. The vibrant, dynamic live music of the ballet wouldn’t be possible without the orchestra.
Jonathan Shames, director of orchestral studies and music director of OU Symphony Orchestra, will be leading the orchestra as its conductor through Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s score.
“It’s all color and life and atmosphere,” Shames said. “(The art forms) should be seen together.”
Second-year master's student John Kaiser during rehearsal for "The Nutcracker" on Nov. 27.
Performance and musicology graduate student John Kaiser plays the bassoon in the orchestra. When orchestra and dance are intertwined, Kaiser said it’s artwork.
“It’s nice to work with other people in different disciplines,” Kaiser said.
Pit musicians train their ears to understand the complexities of playing alongside each fine arts discipline, Kaiser said. Singers need less accompaniment so their voice isn’t drowning behind an instrument, whereas dancers rely on a steady tempo with fewer fluctuations.
The conductor communicates the tempo to the orchestra, to set the pace for both the dancers and the musicians.
Junior Kayla Adams during rehearsal for "The Nutcracker" on Nov. 27.
“I would really encourage people to listen and see how everything fits together,” trumpet performance junior Kayla Adams said.
Ballet performance and pre-veterinary sciences junior Julian Cottrell will alternate dancing the roles of Snow King, Dew Drop Cavalier and Sugar Plum Cavalier throughout both weekends of the production.
The OU School of Dance has been preparing for “The Nutcracker” since the end of last semester, rehearsing with a recorded version of the music. Despite rehearsing with the same score, Cottrell said dancing with an orchestra is a different experience.
“Usually we only work with a CD or video that has set music with a set tempo,” Cottrell said. “Getting to work with them (the orchestra) wasn't challenging, but it definitely turned our brains on.”
The orchestra, dancers, and conductor collaborate to keep a steady tempo that works for everyone involved in the production, which Cottrell said is a challenge for all the performers.
“It's good for us and the orchestra because we get to see what it's like to dance with live music and that it's not going to be consistent a hundred percent of the time,” Cottrell said. “We have to adapt to them but at the same time, they have to adapt to us.”
The orchestra musicians are eager to share their work with the greater OU and Norman community, Shames said.
“When you are actually in a room of 90 people all playing instruments together, it can make a feeling that’s hard to describe,” Kaiser said. “But it’s something that’ll stick with you.”
OU Symphony Orchestra will accompany the production on opening weekend. “The Nutcracker” will open 8 p.m. Friday, with additional orchestra-accompanied performances at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for “The Nutcracker” are available online and additional dates are available the following weekend.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Ryan Little and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
