FLOATING MUSIC- ARTS CENTER, POINT COUNTERPOINT II

AMERICAN WIND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SETS SAIL “ONE MORE TIME”

For 52 years the American Wind Symphony Orchestra has been making musical headlines along the waterways of the United States, the Caribbean and Northern Europe. Called “a remarkable cultural phenomenon” by New York Magazine’s music critic Alan Rich, the group was founded in 1957 by its music director, Robert Austin Boudreau, who motivates his top notch young musicians to perform at their highest capacity.

The 2009 tour on the AWSO’s unique floating stage, “Point Counterpoint II” will begin in mid-June as the vessel and its troubadours present an unforgettable experience to citizens of Erie, Pennsylvania. They will then entertain thousands as they traverse the coasts of Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan before entering the Illinois River, and finally ending the 2009 tour at Cape Girardeau, Missouri on the Mississippi.

The orchestra’s audiences bring folding chairs and blankets to the riverside and watch in fascination as the shell of the orchestra’s floating arts center, “Point Counterpoint II,” opens and the music begins. From that point on, there is a shared experience between audience and performers that is remembered for many years. The music is unique and exciting, the floating stage is a one-of-a-kind wonder, and the setting is a harmonious blending of river sounds, the lowering sun, and camaraderie with one’s neighbors. Robert Boudreau has truly found a way to make the arts a part of life.

The arrival of Point Counterpoint II at the riverfront always causes a stir. The silver vessel, 195 feet long and 38 feet wide, once seen on a foggy day, was mistaken for a UFO! It was designed by the renowned architect Louis I. Kahn, subject of the recently released documentary film, “My Architect”, which was nominated for an Academy Award. On board the vessel, in addition to the central stage, one can find art galleries and a small theatre.

Over the past 52 years the combination of talented young musicians and a floating stage has delighted concert-goers along the waterways. Milwaukee Journal music critic Louis Kenngott wrote, “Like those old showboats of old, it reached everyone – a wonderful cross-section of ages and backgrounds. It brought new music, challenging music, as well as old familiar favorites. Like a dose of instant culture, it was both festive and fun.”

European and Scandinavian audiences reacted enthusiastically to the wind orchestra and its outdoor concerts during its multi-year international tour. Liz Allen in the Evening Herald (Dublin, Ireland) wrote, “…a spectacular performance of classics and jazz was given by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra from Pittsburgh – from the stage of a 60m futuristic floating center…’Fantastic, brilliant, emotional,’ ‘It’s like the start of the Olympics,’ were some of the reactions from the audience as they played on.”

Josef Frusch in Limburgs Dagblad (Heerlan, Netherlands) said, “Clearly the real wind music lover heard what he came to hear with this virtuoso orchestra, which smoothly changed gears from complex modern harmonies to a big band sound, and then back again to a rhythmic pace which highlighted percussion.”

Of a rainy evening concert in Cork, Ireland, Tim Cramer in Evening ECHO wrote, “For over two hours they stood…and clapped, cheered and whistled in appreciation as the famed American Wind Symphony Orchestra put on a performance that took the gloom out of the night and sent everyone home happy.”