Clark College Orchestra to play with the Barron

o What: Clark College Orchestra’s Winter Concert, featuring the former principal trombonist for the Boston Symphony, Ron Barron, playing the world premiere orchestral version of Eric Ewazen’s “Palmetto Suite,” as well as Ferdinand David’s Concertino in Eb for Trombone and Orchestra, plus Aaron Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday” and Richard Strauss’ “Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24.”

o When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

o Where: Vancouver’s Royal Durst Theatre, 3101 Main St.

o Admission: Free.

o Information: 360-992-2662, 360-992-2195, http://www.clark.edu or http://web.me.com/ronbarron/Ron_Barron/Home.html.

Even though Ron Barron retired recently from the Boston Symphony after more than 30 years as the principal trombonist, he still wanted to make music. So he sent out a broadcast e-mail offering his services as a soloist that eventually crossed the country and reached one of his former New England Conservatory students, Don Appert.

Besides being in charge of Clark College’s music department, Appert also serves as the music director and conductor of the Clark College Orchestra, which blends the school’s students with musicians from throughout the community. In that role, Appert has been able to bring many talented performers to Vancouver, including soloists from the Oregon Symphony. Working with Barron, though, a prominent player from one of the top orchestras in the world, Appert acknowledged, would be unprecedented territory.

Yet, he also thought, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

The conversations between the two that followed have led the Clark College Orchestra to not only feature Barron in its free concert Wednesday night in Vancouver’s Royal Durst Theatre but also to have on that program the world premiere of the orchestral version of Eric Ewazen’s “Palmetto Suite.” Ewazen, who has been a faculty member of The Juilliard School in New York since 1980, originally wrote the piece for Barron and a pianist. Barron asked him to expand the tune for this Vancouver show, and Ewazen is expected to attend the premiere as well.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of concert for a community orchestra,” Appert said. “To perform with an artist of this caliber in a new work … I was really surprised. I imagined he would do something with just strings, but he’s using the full orchestra.”

Barron said Ewazen was inspired to write the original piece while walking on a beach during a vacation to South Carolina, in the Charleston area. The movements reflect the setting, the wild dunes, as well as the serenity of a woman he noticed sitting on the side of the road, weaving baskets.

Appert said, “It’s not an avant garde piece at all. It’s very tonal. The second movement is even kind of jazzy and bluesy.”

Barron said he and Appert had kept in loose contact over the decades, and he appreciated the interest from his former pupil enough to find a way to make the concert work into his schedule. That included expanding his nationwide touring plans to package together a mini-swing through the Northwest that combined the Clark show with performances this month at Portland State University and the University of Oregon.

Music in the home

“I really want to do everything I can to help people find joy and happiness and comfort in music,” Barron said. “You don’t have to be a professional musician to make that happen. Over the last 100 years, there has been a great distance put between performing in the home and just being consumers and listeners. People feel inadequate if they can’t perform like a pro. That’s a bad thing.”

He added, “Many homes used to have pianos. Music was in the home. People sang. People went to church and sang. That’s been disappearing. So instead of them coming to me, I want to take this opportunity to bring music directly to people and try to encourage them to be active as performers. Too often, people get jobs and put their instruments in the closet. I want them to stay invested, at whatever level.”

Appert said, “He’s not coming here with something to prove. This is someone who has played with world-renowned conductors and as a soloist. It’s certainly not for the monetary reward. It’s purely for the musical reward. He just loves to play.”