Juneau Symphony closes their 60th season with epic 'Showdowns'

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Monday, June 5, 2023 at 6:30 AM

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The Juneau Symphony performs Adventures on Earth from E.T by John Williams.

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Juneau Symphony's theme for their 60th season was 'Epic' - and their final performance for the season went above and beyond.

Juneau Symphony closed out their 60th EPIC season with their concert series 'Showdowns'.

They performed Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at Juneau Douglas High School. 

Orchestrator Spencer Edgers joined Capital Chat before the shows to share insight into the music. 

"I'm fortunate enough to have this opportunity where I've been able to arrange and orchestrate two pieces for the symphony, which I'm so, so excited about," he said. "The first one is an original by Taylor Vidic, it's called Cat and Mouse. So that's kind of an epic showdown since time immemorial." 

Edgers is a composer, arranger and saxophonist. 

A 2022 Rasmuson Individual Artist Awardee, Vidic is in the process of recording her first album. The album will be made of songs written throughout her 20s falling in and out of love with Southeast, including the song "Cat and Mouse". 

Below: Taylor Vidic sang "Cat and Mouse" arranged by Orchestrator Spencer Edgers. (Photo credit Jasz Garrett/KINY)

She also sang a Broadway favorite from the musical 'Waitress' which Edgers received permission to arrange. 

"The other piece is from the musical Waitress which is music and lyrics all by Sara Bareilles," he said. "The piece She Used to be Mine. That's where the drumset comes in."

Both pieces explore the universal internal showdown of love. 

Other epic 'Showdowns' included pieces from Batman, Superman, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek into Darkness, Jurassic Park, E.T. and more. 

Above: Sara Radke Brown, Executive Director of Juneau Lyric Opera and Artistic Director of Vox Borealis vocalized "Twilight and Shadow" from Lord of the Rings. (Photo credit Jasz Garrett/KINY)

For many people in the audience, it was their first time attending a symphony performance. Executive Director Charlotte Truitt said this was a great concert to try out the symphony for the first time.

"Something for everyone to love. This is one of those concerts where maybe you don't always go to the symphony," she said. "This is one you're going to want to come to bring your kids, bring the whole family because it will spark inspiration and fun." 

She added the pieces are particularly fun because they can bring you back to watching a movie you love. 

Coming up next for Juneau Symphony is their summer strings camp. Find more information here.

Below: Vidic and Edgers bow. (Photo credit Jasz Garrett/KINY)

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