MUSIC REVIEW : Granger Leads South Coast Symphony in Pops Concert

Clearly, the Plaza Ballroom of The Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa is not a concert hall. Friday night, the South Coast Symphony proved it by giving a concert there.

Though open to the public, the “Evening of Pops” actually was part of the 20th-anniversary conference of the Assn. of California Symphony Orchestras--three days of seminars, lectures and round-table discussions, all concerning the business end of the music world. The audience, sitting around tables, endured dead acoustics, clinking water glasses and busboys entering and exiting from the back.

Certainly the festivities were not intended to be anything but informal. Taking that into consideration, then, as pops concerts go, this one had some moments of admirable music-making.

The orchestra’s founder, John Larry Granger, opened with a spirited performance of Ferdinand Herold’s Overture to “Zampa.” A reading of the Suite No. 1 from Bizet’s “Carmen” found fewer moments of inspiration as tempos sagged and intonation--especially in the string section--became muddled.

Pianist Mona Golabek’s careful reading of Grieg’s A-minor Piano Concerto was the brightest moment. The polished performance was accompanied by a tight, insightful orchestral reading.

The second part of the program proved less eventful.

Three medleys of songs from “My Fair Lady,” “West Side Story,” and Disneyland and Disney movies proceeded in the same cookie-cutter arrangement: an introduction, 16 or 32 bars of a song followed by a slow interlude into the next song and, when finished, a coda. Even the most avid Broadway enthusiast may have found himself nodding off as the orchestra nonchalantly sawed its way through this wallpaper music.

Closing the program was an arrangement of jigs, reels and American tunes that demonstrated some competency in orchestration and working with melodies. The orchestra yelled out “hee-haws,” and the audience capped off the barnyard-like din with hand-clapping.