Brian Diehl performed the United States Premiere of Takashi Yoshimatsu’s “Orion Machine” Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra on March 24 with the Springfield Symphony, under Kevin Rhodes’ direction. The performance received rave reviews from the enthusiastic audience, noting the Cadenza in particular.
“Shaped by Diehl’s wit and fantasy, full of sounds molded by an array of straight mutes, bucket mutes, plunger mutes, and enhanced by his reflective pas de deux with a derby mute mounted on a nearby microphone stand, the cadenza proved by turns remarkable, inscrutable, and humorous. Diehl produced actual chord progressions from the trombone, traded wahs with his section-mates, riffed on the Kodaly theme from Close Encounters, and eventually emerged into the finale, a galaxy of orchestral color – a harmonic starscape of stacked thirds.” (as noted by Clifton Noble Jr. in the Springfield Republican)