Crimson and Gold Connection; Raul Mongia

Welcome to Crimson and Gold Connection, keeping you connected with the people and current events at Pittsburgh State University. This is the Crimson and Gold Connection on 89K RPS, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro. To conclude the fall 2019 season of the Crimson and Gold, we're going to look back at one of the most exciting events that happened at Pittsburgh State this semester. In mid-October, when opriotic tenor and Pittsburgh State alum, Robert Dean Smith performed with the Southeast Kansas Symphony at the Bignol Families Center for the Arts, and at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City. Just days after both concerts, I spoke with Raoul Monquia, director of orchestra as at Pittsburgh State and conductor of the Southeast Kansas Symphony, to hear how it was to perform at both venues, and what it was like working with Robert Dean Smith. Oh my goodness. You know, it was just five days ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago. And the reason is because there was so much packing one week that we did with Robert Dean Smith.

Obviously, it was such a pleasure to perform with him, having an artist of his level coming down to Pittsburgh and playing with this SEK Symphony Orchestra, which is considered a community orchestra, you know, but at the same time, it's 40 to 60% students, you know, student-based. So having for a student, either a freshman or a second-year master's student, having the opportunity to perform with a guy that is performing with the best orchestras in the world and sharing the stage with, you know, the biggest artist right now is just very special for us. So yes, we packed a whole truck. We put all the percussion instruments, all the big instruments in that, you hold, and we drove to Kansas City to perform at the Kauffman Center, which was one of the best experiences we had, you know. That performance hall is one that every orchestra tour in the Midwest wants to stop to, you know, buy.

I'm performing there because it's just, you know, if you observe and you see the Kauffman very similar to the Walt Disney auditorium in Los Angeles, it looks very similar. You know, the stage is movable. The whole thing just goes up or down with whatever you want. Usually it's only the pit. The pit goes up and down, but here is the whole stage where you can say, I want three, four different levels of steps for the orchestra and they make it happen. So that's one of the things that, you know, technology-wise, it's just great to be there. But acoustic, oh my goodness, I was telling the orchestra, well, at the big nail, we feel like we're driving a very new Lexus, but when you go to the Kauffman, you're driving a Roll Royce. I've never driven one, but now I know how it feels like, you know, it's because the acoustic of the hall is just wonderful. No matter what you do, what you play is just around yourself. So it's one of those places that, you know, it gets better with people, believe it or

not, but when the auditorium is empty, there is a lot of resonance, but when people get there, it's like the perfect combination of sounds going in the air, you know, there's not bad wall because there is a huge organ behind it. So the sound goes up and around yourself. So it's no matter where you are in the auditorium, you hear the orchestra or the performance perfectly. Have you ever performed at the Kauffman Center previously? I personally have. Okay. I've been part of orchestra where we perform there and I play in different spots, you know, first violin, second violin, concertmaster behind the section, it doesn't really matter what you are, and I've been attending to the Kauffman Center for many years. I mean since I got here, the first thing I did was go listen to the symphony, in case it's symphony, you know, it's one of the best in the Midwest. So yeah, I'm familiar with the room, but this was different. This was three years. It sounds like it's from the podium. Yeah.

It's my first time conducting and it was just, you know, I mean, my performance here was on Thursday and we performed there on Sunday and so that, you know, energy was still in the air for us, but the kind of response that we had from the orchestra, I mean, everybody was so excited about it. It's like, you know, a solo that we had some issues, like balancing here at the Kauffman because of, I mean, at the, at the bignal because of the way the stage is set and the shell is over us, the sound is immediate. So there is, it takes a little longer and it takes a little longer for the sound to disappear in the air. So as well, there are a little things that as a conductor, I had to deal with, but at the same time, it was just wonderful. Can you talk to me what it was like to perform with Robertine Smith? Yes. You know, we went from rehearsal one to performance on Thursday, from Monday through Thursday and the orchestra just got better and better. It's one of those things that he was so encouraging, he was very supportive, he knew he was performing

with the students and he had a very real idea of what it was, you know. He told me he heard the orchestra online or our videos are online, you know, so he had an idea of what it was, but, you know, the set of songs, the set of pieces that he picked were not very easy, you know, balancing wise, you know. These students are very young and this repertoire is for very mature orchestras because it's just the type of repertoire. You don't get to perform this very often, but the fact that these kids were exposed to this at this moment in their life is like, you know, the possibilities are endless now for them because they now experience Wagner, they now experience Strauss, those are the big names when you talk about symphonic music, you know, the big German works. So it's really nice. I mean, it was amazing to work with him. Have you been the director with singers?

Yes. Oh, you have. I have. Not with singers of his caliber and I keep telling that because this is my first time. I'm my career that I get to perform with the name like Robert Dinsmith, believe it or not. I mean, I have been involved with people in orchestras where we perform with Jojo Ma, you know, he's stuck for a man, you know, any, any placebo domingo, any of the big names. But to be able to work to discuss, to talk about the music, to talk about tempo, to talk about style, with an artist like that, it was my first time. And I think it was just, you know, very personal. So that was nice. All right. Raul, thank you for some of your time this morning. My pleasure. I was speaking with Raul Mangia, director of orchestras at Pittsburgh State and conductor of the Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra, about collaborating with Ombrionic Tenor and Pittsburgh State alum, Robert Dinsmith, that took place in mid-October of this year. The next performance for the SEK Symphony will be a collaboration with the Pittsburgh

State University Opera on February 14th and 16th of 2020 for more information or to hear this interview again, visit our news blog at krpsnews.com. Join us for Crimson and Gold Connection Wednesdays at 8.50 and Fridays at 350.