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Members of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra performed before an audience that filled the Tacoma Art Museum's lobby last night to preview their upcoming season. Joined by music director and conductor, Harvey Felder, the group provided the museum audience with an evening that both entertained and informed.

Felder acted as the evening's host, chatting informally with the nearly-200 member audience, although he frequently turned the microphone over to members of the orchestra for help in introducing both themselves and the music they performed. The atmosphere remained relaxed and friendly throughout the evening.

"It's an opportunity to see how things blend together," Felder explained of the concert’s structure, which featured varying instrumental combinations for each of the five pieces performed. The concert commenced with a quartet of orchestra members performing the first movement of Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F. Major, followed by a wind quintet playing music by French composer Taffanel.

Succeeding selections were performed by increasingly larger ensembles, culminating in a performance of Benjamin Britten's early work, his Sinfonietta, Opus 1. For the finale, all 10 of the orchestra members in attendance were on stage, while Felder conducted. The concert also featured an excerpt from a Tchaikovsky string sextet.

The acoustics of the Tacoma Art Museum's lobby suited the variably sized ensembles well. The quartet of oboe and strings were not dwarfed by the space, and the final octet and the 10-piece chamber group filled the environment fully and richly. My only acoustically-oriented complaint stemmed from the group’s use of a microphone while talking with audience members. The space was intimate enough that Felder and Co. would have been easily heard throughout the lobby. The microphone made their voices slightly too loud for my taste. Still, what they said was worth hearing.

The arrangement of musical pieces and ensemble configurations was an intriguing approach for the concert. Felder chose works that highlighted the component instruments in each ensemble type. It also provided an interesting way for audience members to explore the sounds, the “voices,” of each of the instruments and their players. And the increasingly stronger sounds produced as the ensemble sizes grew hinted at the richness to come when the 2008 2009 season launches this fall.

The season opener is set for Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. "A Night in Old Russia" is the theme. Call the Symphony office at 253.272.7264 or visit their Web site to learn more.