The Nashville Symphony will present the 2-day concert series Mendelssohn’s Fifth, April 11 and 12 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Conductor Anthony Parnther makes his return with the Nashville Symphony, showcasing works that highlight underrepresented voices. Joan Huang skillfully fuses Chinese folk music with Western compositional styles in a dynamic piece inspired by the rhythmic dance traditions of the Tujia people from western Hunan. Jasmine Barnes’ KINSFOLKNEM invites audiences to experience an exceptional ensemble of Principal musicians. The musicians featured include Titus Underwood (Principal Oboe, Nashville Symphony), Demarre McGill (flute), Anthony McGill (clarinet), and Andrew Brady (bassoon), as they explore themes of family connections. These four principal musicians are from four different acclaimed orchestras across the country, all of whom are African American men.
The program culminates with Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony (No.5) composed to commemorate the Protestant Reformation, which draws inspiration from Bach and features the powerful Lutheran hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Anthony Parnther is an incredible conductor and classical musician in his own right. He’s worked on a long list of musical projects outside of classical music, which includes scoring a stellar list of award-winning hit Hollywood films. The maestro has successfully blended his talents with both classical and pop music works, having collaborated with Wu Tang Clan’s RZA on a music project at Capitol Records. See: (https://youtu.be/ClqQgnxmu8U?si=0L4-K_s8o6QfkAwe)
Here, he chats about his upcoming concerts later this week with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, which brings him full circle from earlier in his career.
TRIBUNE: You’re coming to Nashville April 11th and the 12th with the Nashville Symphony. Mendelssohn’s Fifth concert. Is this a history making event with you serving as conductor, along with the four African American principal musicians in this concert?
Parnther: It might be. It is certainly a collection of four all-star musicians. They are four of the most prominent orchestral musicians in America. And having all of them in the same place at the same time is a real special event. It’s especially meaningful to me because the bassoonist Andrew Brady, is a former student of mine from the time when we were both living in Tennessee 20 years ago… I used to live east of Nashville, in the Tri-Cities area of Johnson City, TN.
TRIBUNE: Have you worked with the other 3 musicians before?
PARNTHER: Yes. I’ve worked with Damari McGill at the Seattle Symphony, where he is the principal flutist. I have worked with Titus on many occasions over the last many years. I’ve known Titus for quite a long time, since he was in college. And Andrew is a student of mine when he was in high school. This was back when I was teaching in Tennessee. So, it’s a bit of a full circle moment to be back in my old stomping ground, so to speak, back in the state of Tennessee and working with these four superstar musicians.
TRIBUNE: I understand that you’ve worked with the Nashville Symphony before. So how special must that be for you?
PARNTHER: Yes. This will be my subscription debut. I have conducted the Nashville Symphony once before, but that was a non-classical program where I conducted them on the movie Encanto. Now, the significance of Encanto is that I’ve spent almost 20 years in Hollywood working in film and television music as my day job. And I was actually the original conductor for the recording sessions for Encanto. So, it’s a movie that I know extremely well because I worked on it. I had the opportunity to do that movie live to picture with the Nashville Symphony. So, I get to return in my subscription debut on my first classical program. So, I’m excited about this opportunity to again work with the Nashville Symphony.
TRIBUNE: You mentioned earlier working on the film Encanto. Tell us about some other films that you’ve worked on.
PARNTHER: One composer that I’ve had a long working relationship with is Ludwig Goransson, the two-time Oscar winning composer. I was the conductor for Black Wakanda Forever, which was the sequel to the original film. I was also the conductor for the Oscar winning score Oppenheimer, which won the Oscar for best score last year. I conducted the score for Avatar: The Way of Water, CREED III. And so many others. The film list of work is long. We’re currently working on the third Avatar film right now.
TRIBUNE: Musically speaking, who are you listening to in your free time?
PARNTHER: That’s a good one. Let me see. I think it would be Aretha Franklin at the top of the list. The second one is Beethoven, and the third one will be Whitney Houston and Earth/Wind/Fire. Definitely Earth/Wind/Fire for sure.
