Cowboy Jamboree - Concert Repertoire

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"I just wanted to drop you a note about the concert today. It was without a doubt one of the best we have ever attended! The music is always wonderful, but we so enjoyed Frank Oden. My students were so impressed! Thanks for inviting us and for providing a great cultural event for our students!"-- Cynthia P., Lubbock-Cooper South Elementary

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What a fantastic premiere for our Family Concert Series! Your performance with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic was just wonderful - a huge hit with the attendees and a rousing start to our new endeavor. It was a very proud moment for us to look in the audience and see all the young families enjoying a Philharmonic concert!

We had a great crowd, and I am especially proud of the fact that we were able to provide nearly 450 free tickets to low income children and their parents. The positive, raving comments we have received so far are enormously gratifying. You were a huge hit with the children and a perfect entrée for many of their first exposure to live symphonic music coupled with theater and poetry. Your performance grabbed the children's attention and held it to the very end.

Thank you for joining us. I also want to thank you and tell you how much I personally appreciated your willingness to work out all the tricky details of taping this concert for broadcast. It was a pleasure working with you and I hope our paths will cross again.

Nancy Shmidt Farkas
Executive Director, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic

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"My students loved the poetry and its connection to the music-- a very cohesive performance. It was all wonderful... this was my favorite of the four "Targeting Teens" concerts I've attended." -- Elaine B. Snyder Junior High

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"It was GREAT! The poetry and music combined together very well. The program held my student's interest and very much engaged their imaginations." -- Tana H. Sands Middle School

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Frank Oden has collaborated with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and me on several of our Amazing Arts, Family, and CulturalConvergence series concerts. He has become a treasured and favorite artist of ours and of our audience. His abilities as a writer, as an actor, and as a collaborative thinker have served us all exceedingly well.

Mr. Oden has written and acted a Halloween program called "The House of Halloween" and a western program called "Cowboy Jamboree" for family concerts that I have conducted. Oden portrays several characters in each of these programs who give a lyrical thread and an interesting scenario that link the musical selections on the program. He appears in alternation with the pieces of music, leaving the stage in between. The programs thus have a dramatic thread running through them, as well as a great deal of variety as Oden's every appearance presents a new character. Each of Oden's appearances dramatically prepares the audience for the symphonic selection that follows. The musical focus is sharpened, not blurred, by the contextual addition of his characters and poetry.

Recently Mr Oden wrote material for a program we gave about the funnier side of classical music. In this program he played two characters (and directed cohorts, including me) in two different comedy segments which were both wonderfully successful. Mr. Oden also assisted me in preparing a script for a young actor portraying Felix Mendelssohn in a family program I conceived about young Mendelssohn's travels. Oden's dramaturgical and literary instincts were of great value in the development of my script, and he also directed the actor in a highly effective performance.

I have come to think of Frank Oden as something of a musical-dramatic alchemist who can take the straw of a rough conceptual idea and transform it into gold. He is a good colleague and a great collaborator. He is also well organized - the concerts I described above were all quite readily prepared in one orchestral service. Any orchestra would benefit by his appearance on their family, children's, or multi-media programs.

Adam Flatt
Associate Conductor, Colorado Symphony Orchestra

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"What an awesome concert!! I have been to 22 years of Lubbock Symphony Orchestra concerts. I have loved every one of them, but today was the best! Thank you to all the musicians, conductor, Mr. Oden and the LSO staff. Thank you for a great musical adventure!" -- Pam A., Honey Elementary

•••

"Almost all of my students remarked about how much they enjoyed the combination of poetry and music. A very eye-catching format, well written. Seeing the professionalism really sparked their interest in their own creative classes!" -- Natalie W., Irons Middle School

•••

While planning a Halloween concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, I interviewed several writers and actors with whom to collaborate for that concert. As soon as Frank walked in, introduced himself, and shared his wealth of ideas, we knew immediately that we had to hire him! It is rare to find an artist of this caliber who is brilliant, creative, and also also very down to earth. This makes him exceptionally easy to work with. All of the experiences below describe orchestral concerts that I've conducted with Frank Oden collaborating as poet and performer.

Frank Oden wrote a series of incredible poems which he performed from memory during this first 1998 Halloween program of orchestral music. This concert was lauded by both audience members and orchestral musicians alike, and Frank was immediately hired to develop, write and perform new Halloween programs for the CSO in 1999 and 2000.

The CSO also commissioned Frank to write and perform his poetry for my "What is Music?" family concert in 2000. For this concert, he wrote a brilliant original adaptation of the poem "Sorcerer's Apprentice" as well as several other poems about the nature of music itself. Frank's performance of the Sorcerer's Apprentice was exceptional!

In the summer of 1999, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra appeared with Frank Oden at the Breckenridge Music Festival, where we performed an original adaptation of Prokofiev's "Peter and The Wolf". Frank re-wrote the narration in his own rhyming lyrical style. It was an enormous success and he performed the same adaptation with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra's Family Concert series in the Fall of 200O.

Aside from Peter and the Wolf, most of Frank's original poems function as introduction to the orchestral works that follow. Frank's writing style is in poetic verse, with highly creative use of internal rhyme and meters that evoke the mood and style of the music being introduced. The content is musicologically enlightening! His clever writing, humorous performance and confident stage presence always keeps the audience in rapt attention.

By the fall of 2000, I will have collaborated with Frank on six programs, and I'm sure there will be more in the future. I encourage you to contact me as a refererence to learn more about why I highly recommend Frank Oden.

Lawrence Loh
Associate Conductor, Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Music Director, Denver Young Artists Orchestra

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"My favorite part of the program was the way that the characters were integrated with the music, (Frank Oden) really added life to the program. It was AWESOME... very well organized, very well done... Bravo!" -- Darla T, Morton Junior High

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"THANKS for doing these programs for the kids. They really help to dispel preconcieved notions about the symphony being boring and the question and answer session afterwards was very helpful, The program engaged the students' imaginations, and will have an impact on their future interests in music." -- Lettie L, Klondike School District.

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	••• "I just wanted to drop you a note about the concert today. It was without a doubt one of the best we have ever attended! The music is always wonderful, but we so enjoyed Frank Oden. My students were so impressed! Thanks for inviting us and for providing a great cultural event for our students!"-- Cynthia P., Lubbock-Cooper South Elementary ••• What a fantastic premiere for our Family Concert Series! Your performance with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic was just wonderful - a huge hit with the attendees and a rousing start to our new endeavor. It was a very proud moment for us to look in the audience and see all the young families enjoying a Philharmonic concert! We had a great crowd, and I am especially proud of the fact that we were able to provide nearly 450 free tickets to low income children and their parents. The positive, raving comments we have received so far are enormously gratifying. You were a huge hit with the children and a perfect entrée for many of their first exposure to live symphonic music coupled with theater and poetry. Your performance grabbed the children's attention and held it to the very end. Thank you for joining us. I also want to thank you and tell you how much I personally appreciated your willingness to work out all the tricky details of taping this concert for broadcast. It was a pleasure working with you and I hope our paths will cross again. Nancy Shmidt Farkas Executive Director, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic ••• "My students loved the poetry and its connection to the music-- a very cohesive performance. It was all wonderful... this was my favorite of the four "Targeting Teens" concerts I've attended." -- Elaine B. Snyder Junior High ••• "It was GREAT! The poetry and music combined together very well. The program held my student's interest and very much engaged their imaginations." -- Tana H. Sands Middle School ••• Frank Oden has collaborated with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and me on several of our Amazing Arts, Family, and CulturalConvergence series concerts. He has become a treasured and favorite artist of ours and of our audience. His abilities as a writer, as an actor, and as a collaborative thinker have served us all exceedingly well. Mr. Oden has written and acted a Halloween program called "The House of Halloween" and a western program called "Cowboy Jamboree" for family concerts that I have conducted. Oden portrays several characters in each of these programs who give a lyrical thread and an interesting scenario that link the musical selections on the program. He appears in alternation with the pieces of music, leaving the stage in between. The programs thus have a dramatic thread running through them, as well as a great deal of variety as Oden's every appearance presents a new character. Each of Oden's appearances dramatically prepares the audience for the symphonic selection that follows. The musical focus is sharpened, not blurred, by the contextual addition of his characters and poetry. Recently Mr Oden wrote material for a program we gave about the funnier side of classical music. In this program he played two characters (and directed cohorts, including me) in two different comedy segments which were both wonderfully successful. Mr. Oden also assisted me in preparing a script for a young actor portraying Felix Mendelssohn in a family program I conceived about young Mendelssohn's travels. Oden's dramaturgical and literary instincts were of great value in the development of my script, and he also directed the actor in a highly effective performance. I have come to think of Frank Oden as something of a musical-dramatic alchemist who can take the straw of a rough conceptual idea and transform it into gold. He is a good colleague and a great collaborator. He is also well organized - the concerts I described above were all quite readily prepared in one orchestral service. Any orchestra would benefit by his appearance on their family, children's, or multi-media programs. Adam Flatt Associate Conductor, Colorado Symphony Orchestra ••• "What an awesome concert!! I have been to 22 years of Lubbock Symphony Orchestra concerts. I have loved every one of them, but today was the best! Thank you to all the musicians, conductor, Mr. Oden and the LSO staff. Thank you for a great musical adventure!" -- Pam A., Honey Elementary ••• "Almost all of my students remarked about how much they enjoyed the combination of poetry and music. A very eye-catching format, well written. Seeing the professionalism really sparked their interest in their own creative classes!" -- Natalie W., Irons Middle School ••• While planning a Halloween concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, I interviewed several writers and actors with whom to collaborate for that concert. As soon as Frank walked in, introduced himself, and shared his wealth of ideas, we knew immediately that we had to hire him! It is rare to find an artist of this caliber who is brilliant, creative, and also also very down to earth. This makes him exceptionally easy to work with. All of the experiences below describe orchestral concerts that I've conducted with Frank Oden collaborating as poet and performer. Frank Oden wrote a series of incredible poems which he performed from memory during this first 1998 Halloween program of orchestral music. This concert was lauded by both audience members and orchestral musicians alike, and Frank was immediately hired to develop, write and perform new Halloween programs for the CSO in 1999 and 2000. The CSO also commissioned Frank to write and perform his poetry for my "What is Music?" family concert in 2000. For this concert, he wrote a brilliant original adaptation of the poem "Sorcerer's Apprentice" as well as several other poems about the nature of music itself. Frank's performance of the Sorcerer's Apprentice was exceptional! In the summer of 1999, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra appeared with Frank Oden at the Breckenridge Music Festival, where we performed an original adaptation of Prokofiev's "Peter and The Wolf". Frank re-wrote the narration in his own rhyming lyrical style. It was an enormous success and he performed the same adaptation with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra's Family Concert series in the Fall of 200O. Aside from Peter and the Wolf, most of Frank's original poems function as introduction to the orchestral works that follow. Frank's writing style is in poetic verse, with highly creative use of internal rhyme and meters that evoke the mood and style of the music being introduced. The content is musicologically enlightening! His clever writing, humorous performance and confident stage presence always keeps the audience in rapt attention. By the fall of 2000, I will have collaborated with Frank on six programs, and I'm sure there will be more in the future. I encourage you to contact me as a refererence to learn more about why I highly recommend Frank Oden. Lawrence Loh Associate Conductor, Colorado Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Denver Young Artists Orchestra ••• "My favorite part of the program was the way that the characters were integrated with the music, (Frank Oden) really added life to the program. It was AWESOME... very well organized, very well done... Bravo!" -- Darla T, Morton Junior High ••• "THANKS for doing these programs for the kids. They really help to dispel preconcieved notions about the symphony being boring and the question and answer session afterwards was very helpful, The program engaged the students' imaginations, and will have an impact on their future interests in music." -- Lettie L, Klondike School District. •••
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