ASHLAND – Ashland Symphony Orchestra is preparing to bring “The Magic of Harry Potter” to Archer Auditorium Feb. 3, and the concert is sure to be quite a spectacle.
Concertgoers will find a magician, live owls, Harry Potter characters and a photo booth in the lobby before the show.
Then, under the direction of Maestro Arie Lipsky, the musicians will play music from all seven Harry Potter movies. The performance will be accompanied by dancers from Ashland Regional Ballet and Opus II Dance Studio, singers from the Ashland University Chorus and Ashland University president Carlos Campo as narrator.
In the spirit of the fun-filled evening, several of the symphony’s leaders and musicians have taken an online “Sorting Hat” quiz to discover which of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s four houses best suits their personality. The quiz came from “Time” magazine and was developed with social scientists from Cambridge University.
One musician was tested from each family of instruments — a string player, a brass player, a woodwind player and a percussionist — as well as the symphony’s executive director and board president.
When the results came in, there was not a single Gryffindor or Slytherin on the list. The unscientific findings showed the symphony may be full of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It’s worth noting, however, that Maestro Lipsky declined to take the quiz, prompting one musician who asked not to be named to suggest that Lipsky might be a Slytherin.
The sorting hat put clarinet player Tom Reed, trombone player Charles Bradley II and cello player Lindsey Brown all into the Ravenclaw house, which is known for learning, wisdom, wit and intellect. The fourth musician who took the quiz, percussionist Dave Wolbert, was sorted as a friendly Hufflepuff, but also showed a high percentage of Ravenclaw tendencies.
For Wolbert, its no surprise the professional musicians who make up the symphony tend to skew Ravenclaw.
“I think to be a successful musician does require one to be studious,” he said. “Many people with a great deal of talent are not necessarily successful. It takes a serious approach to practice and development.”
Academic types also seem to gravitate more to symphonic music than less academically-inclined people, Wolbert speculated.
Brown said while she believes all the musicians share common traits, each instrument section can take on its own personality. Brown finds she is more likely to hang out with brass players outside of work than she is to spend time with fellow string players, mostly because the brass players are more outgoing.
When asked whether percussionists might be a tad more friendly than other musicians, Wolbert responded diplomatically.
“I don’t want to get in any trouble by answering this, but I do feel percussionists are a friendly bunch,” he said. “We work together and share equipment and move around in the section in a different way than other instruments. So it’s a bit more social.”
Like Wolbert, symphony executive director Martha Buckner was sorted as a Hufflepuff, but showed a high degree of Ravenclaw tendency.
“I have taken other personality and right brain-left brain quizzes, and I often score between two different types,” she said. “So it comes as no surprise that I wouldn’t fall squarely in one house.”
As the face of the symphony, Buckner has to work with and negotiate between the different expectations and needs of donors, patrons, students, musicians, technical staff and guest artists. It requires friendliness and humility, both signature traits of Hufflepuffs.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that JoAnn Ford Watson, the outgoing and friendly symphony board president, is also a Hufflepuff.
Watson said she’s excited about bringing “The Magic of Harry Potter” to Ashland.
“This concert will offer breathtaking music filled with the magical joy of the creative wizardry and world of Harry Potter,” she said. “The music will be enthralling for the Ashland community for all ages to enjoy.”
Brown expects the concert will be a hit with Harry Potter fans and muggles alike.
“I think the people that go will enjoy the music because fans can sit back and close their eyes and remember parts of the movies,” she said. “I’m sure not everyone who will be there has seen the movies, but I think it’s whimsical and fun music that anyone can enjoy.”
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 in the Robert Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Auditorium at Ashland High School. Pre-concert activities start at 6 p.m. in the Archer and Little Theatre lobbies and are a free with a concert ticket. There will be sweets and wands available for purchase by cash or check only, and a Harry Potter themed basket will be raffled off with proceeds benefiting the ASO’s outreach programs.
Concert tickets are $16 for adults and seniors and $5 for children and students and are available from the ASO office, 419-289-5115, and the AU Box Office, 419-289- 5125, both located at 331 College Avenue. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit www.ashlandsymphony.org.
What: Ashland Symphony Orchestra’s “The Magic of Harry Potter”
When: Concert begins 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 3. Pre-concert activities begin at 6 p.m. and include magician Mike Catanzarito, live owls from the Medina Raptor Center, a photo booth by Coffy Creations and Harry Potter inspired characters portrayed by students from AU’s Alpha Psi Omega.
Where: Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Auditorium, Ashland High School
Tickets: $16 for adults and $5 for children and students at the ASO office, 419-289- 5115, and the AU Box Office, 419-289- 5125, both located at 331 College Avenue.
