Concert review: Memphis Symphony Orchestra sparks imagination with 'Music as Muse'

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Director Craig Brewer reminisces about growing up in Collierville during the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's Music as Muse: An Artist's Inspiration. Brewer, who served as narrator, shared his local connection and inspirations.

If there were any doubts that the Memphis Symphony Orchestra is moving in new directions, Saturday night's rollicking concert put them all to rest.

Could you ever have imagined Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" performed as a backdrop to a flatulence-based kid's tale?

Photo by Chris Desmond

Director Craig Brewer reminisces about growing up in Collierville during the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's Music as Muse: An Artist's Inspiration. Brewer, who served as narrator, shared his local connection and inspirations.

Or the evening's narrator getting "crunk" with the guest conductor?

Blue hairs and traditionalists might have fainted dead away, but the fact is the hybrid concert -- which included the Memphis Symphony Chorus and University of Memphis' University Singers -- crackled with energy and brilliance. Categorized as part of the classically classical First Tennessee Grand Series (previously Masterworks), it also blended pops, giving a nice mix that included Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and John Williams' "Star Wars" theme.

The show was titled "Music as Muse: An Artist's Inspiration," a survey of music that sparked the imagination of filmmaker and narrator Craig Brewer. There were tunes that he grew up loving, such as Bernstein's Overture to "West Side Story" and Orff's "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana.

The director also shared Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 that he used in his first feature "The Poor and Hungry" and Mozart's Requiem that directly influenced "Hustle & Flow."

Brewer, the raconteur, entertained between songs with tales of growing up with these tunes and pitching film ideas to Hollywood execs. His gift for gab was matched with yet another delight of the evening -- guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, whose banter with Brewer evoked the tart back-and-forth of William Powell and Myrna Loy. Maybe not quite as smooth, but fun nonetheless.

The personable Kuan, however, was especially impressive with the baton, leading with authority and grace and pulling delicious performances from the orchestra. She's not one of the three finalists for the vacant conductor's job, but some in the audience would have hired her on the spot.

The most ground-breaking (or wind-breaking) feature of the evening was when Brewer brought his young son, Graham, on stage and they presented a story titled "Bad Gas Bears." Co-authored by father and son, they "pitched" the story as if to Hollywood producers, complete with storyboards, the music of Grieg and a few strategically placed sound effects.

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