Pop : Mannheim Steamroller in the Service of Trees

It’s a noble thing Mannheim Steamroller mastermind Chip Davis is doing, donating concert and merchandising proceeds to aid the fire-damaged Yellowstone National Park. But his “The Music of Nature” program with the Pacific Symphony at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday night suggested that, even in music, steamrollers and forests just don’t mix.

Rather than evoke any of the mystery or wonder of the wilderness, under Davis’ baton the new-age outfit and 70-piece orchestra instead depicted nature as a series of cuddly animals hopping through a well-manicured habitat.

Davis’ blocky conducting didn’t ravage nature-inspired selections from Vivaldi, Respighi, Debussy and Sibelius, but neither did it give them any feeling of life. On the potentially tempestuous “Cloud Burst” from Grofe’s “Grand Canyon Suite,” the orchestra’s already disjointed playing was all-but obliterated by cheesy storm and fire effects.

Davis’ own compositions, interspersed between the real ones, were typical new-age fare, with lots of dragging, sustain-pedaled piano arpeggios, gurgling synths and sampled bird sounds. His “Sunrise at Rhodes” proved an exception, with its martial drums and bombastic crescendos seemingly inspired by gladiator-movie sound tracks.