The Williamsburg Symphonia received a standing ovation following its first international performance at the 41st Bermuda Festival of Performing Arts.
The Symphonia hadn’t planned an encore, said executive director Carolyn Keurajian, but the audience’s response was so overwhelming, the Symphonia returned to the stage.
“We felt good about it going into the performance, but it definitely exceeded our expectations,” Keurajian said.
Music director Janna Hymes conducted the 18-piece ensemble during its Jan. 29 performance to a sold-out crowd of around 500 at Earl of Cameron Theater.
“I could feel their energy, I could feel that they liked us,” Hymes said. “That just transported onto the stage.”
Hymes said the energy escalated throughout the program, especially during the specially commissioned piece “The Sea Venture: Songs of the Early Settlers of Bermuda and Jamestown,” containing music of the island.
“They were just very overcome with emotion when we played that piece in particular,” Keurajian said.
The performance, the energy, the reaction, “it’s hard to even describe it,” Hymes said. “It was just so spontaneous.”
Following the performance, Governor of Bermuda, George Fergusson, spoke with Hymes backstage, complimenting the Symphonia, and festival organizers publicly thanked the Symphonia on the festival’s Facebook page.
Welcomed by such warmth, “it was like being at home, in a lot of respects,” Keurajian said. “It just felt right that we were there.”
The orchestra is exploring the opportunity of returning to Bermuda, Keurajian said.
“We’re getting more opportunities than we ever have before,” Keurajian said. “It’s a very exciting time for the Symphonia.”
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-275-4934.
