Review: Olympia Symphony Orchestra partners with Aaron Lamb for ‘Evolve’ concert 

Rachel Benton

Coming together once again for a legendary performance, the Olympia Symphony Orchestra (OSO) partnered with Aaron Lamb of Harlequin Productions for their "Evolve" concert on Nov. 8.

This collaboration came to life in the concert’s featured work, "The Soldier's Tale," by Igor Stravinsky. More on that in a moment. 

I frequently use a phrase when reviewing the Olympia Symphony Orchestra: “They have raised their own high standard.”

When I say this, I’m not simply recycling a phrase to sound supportive. I genuinely mean it, just as I mean it this time. This concert raised the bar once again as OSO continues to innovate and redefine what a symphonic performance can be. 

See what I mean in my review.  

The review 

As they did at the “Lift” concert by unveiling a curtain, the OSO broke an orchestral concert tradition this time by keeping the stage lighting in a darker, warmer glow throughout the performance. This created an intimate atmosphere for the audience, along with a sense of calm reverence that felt particularly appropriate for the program. 

Equally intimate was the number of musicians on stage. Again, appropriate for the program, the ensemble consisted of four string players, seven woodwinds, four brass players, two percussionists, and one pianist. Each musician deserves applause for the emotion and movement they brought to their performance. Their collective and individual talents are truly spectacular!  

The first piece of the afternoon was Darius Milhaud’s "La création du monde (the Creation of the World), Op. 81a." This piece was jazzier than I expected, yet thrilling in its own right. It makes me wonder what God's soundtrack might have been when creating the world. 

This piece stood in stark contrast to the music of "The Soldier's Tale," featuring very militant and nationalistic classical themes alongside romantic or suspenseful themes, depending on the moment in the story.   

Aaron Lamb did a truly incredible job narrating "The Soldier's Tale" and bringing it to life. Lamb's acting is hard to overstate. He brings magnificence, warmth, humor, and love to everything he does, as this performance proved.

I found this performance alongside OSO entirely captivating, and I genuinely doubt anyone who narrated this work ever did a job as great as Lamb did. I really hope the symphony does more pieces that include narration or acting again because I really loved this!  

If ever a story needed telling today, it was this one. To spare you all my inadequate retelling, I encourage you to listen to another ensemble's performance of it here (but it is not nearly as good as what Lamb and OSO did on Sunday). Hopefully audiences will be able to hear this on a Classical King broadcast one day, as the concert was recorded with that possibility in mind. 

The story is all about free will — the choices we make, the motives behind them, and what those choices lead to. It's about recognizing that no person can truly have everything in life, and so we need to be grateful for what we do have that matters most. Putting this story and its message in a World War I context left me utterly speechless, and even now it's hard to put into words how impactful the experience was. 

This story carries a heavy drama we don't encounter every day, yet we still find it in micro-moments all around us. Rather than experiencing a large, overwhelming fall of consequences, we tend to experience domino effects. Still, as the story describes, we do have some options in how the dominoes land. 

Despite their musical differences, the two works performed at this concert share something significant: the circumstances surrounding their creation.

As OSO Music Director and Conductor, Alexandra Arrieche described, both program selections emerged at the end of World War I, finding unity in their attempts to comprehend the chaos of war and make sense of the new realities their composers found themselves in. 

At the same time, as Arrieche discussed during the concert, these pieces remain relevant today. We live in a world still recovering from global catastrophe, continuing to fight wars, and struggling to make sense of our own society. It's fascinating to see how two composers from the same era responded to their circumstances.

That is the beauty of the music: listening to how different people respond to the world around them. Music shows us where we can find kindred spirits, and where we can go to understand the deeper questions our souls long to answer. 

 Classical music is truly for everyone, and I hope you all can make it to future OSO concerts to witness what remarkable things this ensemble does next and what revelations are in store for you in the audience.   

Rachel is a writer, arts advocate, performing arts enthusiast, and passionate about our beloved Thurston County. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in History and Political Science and a minor in Music. You can enjoy more of Rachel's writings by visiting her website. All inquiries for Rachel can be submitted here.