Carl Topilow Photo courtesy of Robb McCormick Gallery.

As we have done since my granddaughter, that I refer to here as Mountain Girl, was born in 2015, Larry, my husband, and I are settled into our rental in Summit County, Colo., to escape the Florida heat and to enjoy family time.

Each summer, we look forward to attending performances of the National Repertory Orchestra (NRO). Eighty young musicians are selected every year through national auditions to perform with the NRO.  NRO alumni may be found in orchestras both in the United States and abroad.  Along with performances at the Riverwalk Center in Breckinridge, the performers participate in free “pop up” concerts offered throughout the county. We have been able to attend several NRO events throughout our stay.

Jewish Tam

For the past three years, we have attended the Pops concert, led by conductor, showman, and clarinet player extraordinaire Carl Topilow.  Now serving as conductor laureate, he was music director and conductor of the NRO for 42 years. In addition to his appearances with the NRO, Topilow is the founding conductor and music director of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and has appeared as guest conductor with more than 130 orchestras.

The son of Jacob and Pearl Topilow, he was raised in Bayonne, N.J.  A 2011 article by Violet Spevack in the Cleveland Jewish News spoke of Topilow’s performances in Jewish venues, including at Yom Kippur services and sisterhood meetings. “Topilow is endearingly ‘one of us,’wrote Spevack, with his Yiddish ta’am (flavor) and chutzpadik (audacious) shticks,” He and his brother and pianist Dr. Arthur Topilow, often perform together, including for a July 2016 NRO event that included klezmer music, traditional Jewish music from Eastern Europe.

Concert Etiquette

On July 8, 2023, Larry and I brought our then eight-year-old granddaughter to her first concert performance. In the days before the event, we explained to her about the protocols for the concert: her need to sit quietly, to be attentive, to applaud at appropriate times, and to avoid any actions that would distract from other concertgoers. Outside of asking if there would be a ‘halftime’ (she and her father are huge Denver Nuggets fans), she was well-prepared. She even stood up and yelled “Bravo!” at the appropriate times.

The entertaining concert included themes from “The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King”, and The Godfather, as well as Topilow’s signature selections from “Fiddler on the Roof.”  We particularly enjoyed Topilow’s imitation of the sounds of the shofar on his clarinet — Tikiah! T’Ruah! Shevarim,—played by the violinist Issac Stern in the movie version of the Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick classic.

Movies With Live Orchestra

Later in the season, we took our granddaughter along with her parents to a performance of “The Lion King.” The Disney animated classic was shown in its entirety on the big screen above the orchestra as 80 musicians, led by conductor Jason Seber, performed the score in precise timing with every scene. “Once you watch a movie accompanied by the power of a live orchestra, you’ll be spoiled for life,” wrote Shauna Farnell in an NRO article in July 2023. She was right. We loved it!

This year, Larry and I repeated our Pops visit. Topilow and his iconic red clarinet led a small line of brass and wind musicians into Riverwalk with a somber rendition of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” a gospel song frequently played at New Orleans jazz funerals. Once on stage, he led the orchestra in a rousing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” He showed off his clarinet expertise in the final number, the Cantina theme from John Williams “Star Wars” soundtrack.

Although she was unable to attend this year’s Pops concert, Mountain Girl joined us for the NRO’s showing of “Star Wars: The New Hope,” again replete with the symphony led by Jason Seber replacing the entire musical score. The Force was with us as we enjoyed every minute.

 

Sources

A you to Carl Topilow for his input into the article

Farnell, Shauna. “The National Repertory Orchestra presents Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ in Concert Live to Film.” www.nro.org website. July 23, 2023.

NRO website. www.nro.org

Spevack, Violet. “Maestro Carl Topilow, Cleveland Pops mark a decade together.” Cleveland Jewish News. October 4, 2011.

Topilow, Carl. www.carltopilow.com