<\/p>\n
On May 9, the Dearborn Symphony took the stage at Ford Community & Performing Arts Center to perform their season finale<\/a>, a program called \u201cFantasia Favorites.\u201d True to the name, the program consisted of classical cult classics: \u201cNight on Bald Mountain\u201d by Modest Mussorgsky, \u201cDance of the Hours\u201d by Amilcare Ponchielli, \u201cThe Sorcerer\u2019s Apprentice\u201d by Paul Dukas and \u201cThe Firebird Suite\u201d by Igor Stravinsky. But before \u201cThe Firebird Suite\u201d could grace the stage, the world premiere of Anthony Lai\u2019s \u201cIn Other News\u201d was set to debut.<\/p>\n As a native of Dearborn, the first majority<\/a> Arab-American city in the United States, Lai noticed a lack of Western media coverage on the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine. Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict<\/a> \u2014 which has currently displaced around 90 percent<\/a> of Gaza\u2019s population \u2014 \u201cIn Other News\u201d conveys Lai\u2019s observations of televised journalism. The original composition is a comparison of American and overseas news coverage, a discourse translated into music through paralleling dissonance and consonance.<\/p>\n Beginning with a stunning pianississimo flute solo, this motif returns throughout. The rest of the winds were as languid as ever, a promising example of the thinly orchestrated parts with stripped-back sound that truly stole the show. As the piece picked up along with the instrumentation, the brass organically took up space with their sound and presence. The velvety sound of the trumpet bridged a path to the incoming climax.<\/p>\n Likely influenced by the first half of the program, I felt remnants of the piece\u2019s fairytale vibes before it took a turn. The dissonance picked up speed. Some sloppy stomping interjected the piece, which likely could have been more effective if done with more vigor.<\/p>\n