Boise Baroque kicks off season with soloist Jennifer Drake

By David Thiel for Boise Weekly

If you are a lover of classical music, don't miss the Boise Baroque Orchestra's '07-'08 season debut.
Conducted by music director, Daniel Stern, Idaho's premier chamber orchestra opens their fifth season with a performance tonight at the Nampa Civic Center with nods to the works of Bach, Boyce, Rameau, Barber and Hoffmeister. [split]
Also on display will be solo performances by Dawn Douhit, Karlin Coolidge, Jennifer Rhees and Jennifer Drake (pictured).
The ebullient Drake, who also plays with the Boise Philharmonic and the popular viola bass clarinet duo Darkwood Consort, will be featured during the Hoffmeister Viola Concerto.
"This is a great piece of music that you don't hear too often," Drake says. "As a whole it is upbeat and cheerful -; strongly resembling a Mozart violin concerto. Being the viola player makes it even better!"
Drake has given considerable thought to her cadenzas -; those unwritten passages which allow the soloist an opportunity to display their virtuosity and musical taste.
"Improvisation is fun, but the challenge is playing in the style of the composition. I've taken the time to write out my cadenzas."
Discussing the upcoming season, music director Daniel Stern notes that the orchestra's repertoire is not strictly limited to Baroque compositions.
"Although we perform masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries, the orchestra also plays classics written beyond the Baroque period," Stern says. "We always try to enrich the palette of music to which our audience is exposed.