Reviews
Featured
“Sitting among the orchestra members enabled one to watch and hear the musicians as they maintained their focus and intellect in pursuing artistic excellence. Conductor Maestro Bernard prudently and precisely projected each musical nuance with his facial expressions, hands, and body. Hearing the commensurate and remarkable musical interplay of the musicians, instruments, and orchestra sections (strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion) was insightful and delightful. As the music progressed, sounds emerged from all directions, and the audience became fully immersed in a complex, ephemeral, artistic virtual paradigm.” -Edward A. Kliszus
“The sui generis aural experience of sitting among and hearing accomplished soloists, instrumental sections, sonority, and the delicate shadings of tonal colors produced was glorious, tingling, and prodigious.” -Edward A. Kliszus
“Seated on the podium, with an electric keyboard in front of him set up to sound like a harpsichord so he could play continuo, Maestro Bernard took the time for a teachable moment. With audience participation he described the difference between melody and harmony, using a few different examples from Bach keyboard works. The embedded audience was truly enthralled throughout the concert. “ - Joanna Barouch
“It is a hair-raising experience to become a part of this living, breathing mechanism known as an orchestra. It brings composers and their creations to life right in front of the audience. A transcendent experience, indeed. It is heart-stoppingly exciting! A recent Inside Out concert of Maher's 5th symphony (with Maestro Bernard giving a brief introduction to each movement) was one of the most brilliant performances I’ve ever heard.” -Joanna Barouch
“From my seat between the second violins and the violas, that magical transition [in Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Haydn] when the reedy little theme blossoms into the first variation, with its soft throb and swirl of the full orchestra, was like going from narrow screen to CinemaScope.” -David Wright
“At this proximity the effect was spidery and delicate, drawing the ear into the stark and shattering dissonances that are employed at the climax of this work.” -Paul Pelkonen
“The PACS's Inside/Out concerts are nothing short of a classical revolution.” -Peter Danish