Petite, with bubbly friendliness and bright red socks (profoundly deaf since childhood, the percussionist hears vibrations through her entire body, including feet onstage), Glennie swept through O’Boyle’s concerto like a graceful whirlwind. From the circular bell melody of the opening over a shimmery string cushion, through the unbelievably fast bell part in the jig, to thundering bass drum and scarily overpowering snare in the war section, through a magical vibraphone stillness and eerie cymbal-chime effects to the galvanizing marimba cadenza, Glennie moved through the work’s kaleidoscope of emotions like a dancer. Her attention to sheer sound and color seemed to pull the orchestra into a new stratum of playing, utterly focused. And Glennie’s placement across the orchestra from the percussion section allowed a lovely visual and aural antiphony in O’Boyle’s well-crafted writing, giving his movie-score atmosphere more textural depth.

Tacoma Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sarah Ioannides
Pantages Theater, Tacoma
2 & 3 May 2014