I have always had a secret (well, not-so-secret) obsession with musical theater. I think if I had been taller (short guys never get the lead) and could dance (you don’t want to see that!), I might be in a totally different profession now.

Of course, that profession is experiencing the same profound crisis as the orchestral performance world right now.

Looking back on how frequently I made music with other human beings prior to the pandemic, it’s almost laughable how much I sort of took it for granted. I’ve always been incredibly grateful for my job in the Oregon Symphony, and I’ve never lost sight of how truly lucky I am that I get to make music for a living. But like literally anything else in life, when you do something every. single. day. for years, even something as special as music making can become, well, commonplace.

Now we’re in a different world. The last time I made music with a colleague? live? in realtime? March.

Having the opportunity, through 45^th Parallel and this mind-blowing technology, to play chamber music and sing musical theater live is a singular event in my life right now, and honestly I hadn’t anticipated how grateful I was going to feel for the privilege of doing it. The rehearsal process has been so, so awesome and has re-invigorated my musicianship.

I always love playing flute and piccolo, which is of course what I’m trained to do, so I’m glad that I’ll be sharing that with everyone in this performance. But I’m really excited to share some of my favorite musical theater tunes, and feel lucky to have been given this platform (and the green light!) with which to do it. The songs, as well as the shows they're from, range from wacky to serious, devastating to hilarious, and every manner of emotion between. I think that might be my very favorite thing about musical theater itself: it’s the very embodiment of human emotion. Classical music is amazing, opera is amazing. But there is nothing – and I mean nothing (sorry, classical snobs, come at me) – like the moment a musical theater tune modulates up a half step to reach even higher heights. Cheesy, wonderful, joyful, heart-wrenching.

Here’s hoping that live music, including on the stages of Broadway, comes back to us in full, unapologetic force as soon as possible.

Zach Galatis
Solo Piccolo, Oregon Symphony