Symphony Can Touch “This”

Symphony in the Park
Bushnell Park
Hartford
June 15, 2024

I love orchestral music, and I love being outside. Seeing the Hartford Symphony perform Symphony in the Park at Bushnell Park was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

When I arrived, the concert had just begun. The Hartford Symphony was running through a medley from West Side Story, and I have to admit that it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize what the source material was. (It wasn’t until “Tonight” played that I literally slapped my forehead.)

Afterwards the orchestra played selections from Disney’s Encanto. I’ve seen Encanto several times, but there’s only one song I can remember, and it was the song everyone was on the edge of their seats for. That’s right; it’s the one we don’t talk about.

Aside from the talented musicians of the Hartford Symphony orchestra, the concert was also a showcase for some of Hartford’s local greats. During a short break in the orchestral performance, FriendZWorldMusic, an African drum and dance group, entertained the crowd with their energetic routine and had the people grooving in their seats.

After the break, the Symphony brought out artist-in-residence Melissa White to perform Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The piece was a major tonal shift away from the upbeat music of the first half of the concert, a pleasing contrast thanks to White’s virtuosic performance. The long, sweeping notes of the mournful, sorrowful first part of the song swept over the park, leaving the audience in a contemplative mood before picking up for the triumphant conclusion that brought the entire orchestra on in full force.

It was the perfect lead-in to Hartford’s own Ru Love Williams, who came out on the stage to perform Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” Williams owned the song with his own style, belting the notes in a way that Cooke would have been proud of. Williams is an accomplished performer; his rendition of the classic added another layer of texture to a concert already marked by aural complexity.

Williams and director Carolyn Kuan decided to have a little fun at that point, launching into a bombastic performance of one of the greatest rap songs of all time, MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” I could hear the rest of the crowd singing along while the children looked on at a bunch of old people, myself included, rapping a 30-year-old song.

One of the things that the concert drove home was that orchestral and symphonic music is for everyone. We don’t always consider that the music we hear during our favorite movie moments or in the videogames we play is the same music that has been written by classical performers for hundreds of years. Watching the Hartford Symphony perform Encanto and Black Panther puts the sound to real people, and draws a connection between the past and present of music that can introduce a whole new generation to the sound. I enjoyed that the concert mixed popular music with more traditional orchestral compositions so that the audience was able to experience both.

The performance celebrated music across genres and cultures, all free for the city of Hartford. I hope that this is the first in what will be a regular occurrence during the summer months.