The Camellia Symphony Orchestra gave a spirited performance at Memorial Auditorium Saturday night. Conducted by maestro Dr. Allan Pollack, the 86-piece ensemble performed a collection of three works by Bach, Beethoven and Mahler. The collection was dubbed “The Titans” for the power, grandeur and breadth of emotion the compositions typify.

Though beautifully performed by the musicians, Pollack’s promise of “sounds so powerful that they will lift you off your seat” was not fulfilled.

“It’s a very beautiful building, and it’s old and it’s beautiful from the outside, and it’s historically interesting from the inside,” Pollack said. “But the stage definitely needs some kind of shell. If enough attention were paid, it could be acoustically sound.”

Acoustic problems weren’t an issue for the musicians at first. The first performance was Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement of Bach’s “Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor,” a legendary work known for its complex weaving structure and breathtaking beauty.

The musicians performed Bach wonderfully, each section doing its part without overpowering the sound of another, gracefully fading in and out like the runners of a relay race passing the baton without missing a step or fumbling for a moment. The lack of digital amplification or proper acoustics didn’t hinder the first performance, rather a crowd of more than 700 was treated to a glimpse of the past – perhaps this is what it was like to listen to music in 1713. The musicians, mindful of the room’s shortcomings, played ever the more carefully, imbuing Bach’s genius creation with a fervent delicacy.

With Bach finished, accomplished piano soloist Hélène Wickett entered the stage as her instrument was wheeled to the center and nearly half of the orchestra trailed offstage. Next was Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major,” the “Emperor Concerto.”

The problem that became noticeable after the ensemble was reduced was how quiet the performance was. Wickett and the orchestra complemented one another nicely, but with nothing to funnel the sound toward the audience, listening to the performance began to take on the feel of watching a band play from across the street. There was no feeling of the music wrapping around the listeners.

The final performance was Mahler’s “Symphony No.1,” “Titan.” Despite being played by the full ensemble, including nine additional horn players who entered the stage during the final moments of the fourth movement, the performance occasionally suffered from the same problem as before: sections of beautiful music interspersed with sections of music that may or may not have been beautiful – it was simply too quiet to tell. “Symphony No. 1” is meant to be subdued at parts, but without expansive, titanic moments of the fourth movement to contrast with the quiet ones, much of the performance’s impact was lost.

The acoustic shortcomings must not have overly bothered the audience, because they gave the orchestra a long and thundering standing ovation at the evening’s end.

Ken Miller and Enid Morris, who drove from Cameron Park to listen to the Camellia Symphony Orchestra for the first time, were among those who enjoyed the performance and said they had no problem with the volume and that they would consider attending again if the selected music was to their liking.

“We were really drawn by this piece – Mahler’s symphony,” Miller said.

“It’s supposed to be quiet,” he said when asked about the volume. “It was great.”

Many enjoyed the performance, but many also complained of Memorial Auditorium’s poor acoustics, including some musicians and event organizers themselves.

The stage where the musicians sit in Memorial Auditorium is rectangular and has nothing to guide the music toward the audience. When the musicians play, the sound doesn’t just go toward the crowd, it goes toward the crowd, toward the ceiling and everywhere else. The sound quality suffers from this and it will take an investment to fix the problem.

“I’ve got it all measured out,” production manager Dennis Yep said, smiling. “Acoustical shells cost about $5,000 each, and for this room we would need about 24 of them.”

Photos courtesy of Camellia Symphony Orchestra and Rusty Rogers.