When singer and American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken took the stage at Baltimore’s Lyric Opera House on Wednesday, he had a little help. But the “help” did not come as backup singers or recorded music, but a full and awe-inspiring 51-piece orchestra led by university professor Ed Walters.
Even Simon Cowell couldn’t complain about this one.
Aiken was supported by a group of local musicians – loosely called the Ed Walters Orchestra – during both his Wednesday concert in Baltimore and his Thursday concert in Norfolk, two dates on his Christmas tour. The singer performed a full repertoire of beloved holiday classics for adoring – and mostly female – audiences.
Walters, who was the original director of the university’s Scholars music program and who now teaches clarinet, also serves as a contractor for Wolf Trap and the National Theater. Through his association with the Lyric Theater, he was asked to put together a team of musicians for Aiken’s concert. Walters turned to his reliable group of professional musicians, but made sure to include some university students in the experience.
“I have a lot of what we call seasoned professional players,” he says. “I always like to mix in some young people with that. They don’t have so much experience, but they’re still very talented – they just haven’t done a lot. I thought I would mix even more [students] in with the orchestra, except that they’re so busy in school.”
Three graduate and doctoral students played with the orchestra: Kim Buschek, Danny Villanueva and Sarah Pohl.
Pohl, a graduate student in viola performance who played violin for Aiken’s concerts, said this was a unique opportunity for her.
“He’s a very nice guy,” she says of Aiken. “It’s been fun. [It’s like] nothing that I’ve ever done before, playing for a pop star.”
Villanueva, a doctoral student who plays percussion, echoes Pohl’s sentiments.
“It was great,” he says. “It was a lot of fun. … Everybody just took care of us, and it was a blast.”
Walters and the students agree that, if nothing else, Aiken was extremely nice. And indeed, Aiken charmed the orchestra members at rehearsal: dressed in plaid pajama pants and a hoodie (hair longer and wilder than ever), text-messaging while belting out “Grown-Up Christmas List” and cracking jokes in his very Southern accent about his lack of technical music knowledge. The singer certainly made a good impression.
“He’s a very friendly guy,” Walters says. “Everybody got to take a picture with him. He was clowning around with us at rehearsal. … He’s a really down-to-earth country boy.”
Of course, interaction with the celebrity was limited, as the orchestra members had a job to do – and had little time to learn and perfect their music.
“The frantic part about it is, you don’t get much rehearsal time because it’s expensive. … We have to rehearse our portion of the concert in two hours,” Walters explains. “Which is enough time … but you have to have people that really know what they’re doing.”
Villanueva says although the orchestra had minimal time to rehearse the music with Aiken, their talent and his attitude made the performance a hit.
“I thought he sounded great, and he worked very well with the audience,” he says. “I think he conveyed the fact that he was having a good time and having fun with his music.”
Though Aiken’s career is not as sparkling as first-season Idol winner Kelly Clarkson’s surprisingly fantastic one, he has at least made a name for himself in the pop-music world. His 2003 album, Measure of a Man, went platinum, as did his 2004 Christmas album, Merry Christmas With Love. Aiken is currently promoting his new album, A Thousand Different Ways, composed mostly of cover songs with a few new singles mixed in.
Walters calls Aiken’s voice “exceptional” and says the singer could go even further with a little luck. However, Walters says the music business depends as much on the business as on the music, as evidenced by the myriad of untalented but well-managed artists out there.
“I think he’s got a great voice,” he says of Aiken. “Now, that doesn’t mean he’s gonna have a great career. They have to get the right music for him and promote him in the right way.”
Walters and his orchestra members are no strangers to fame. Throughout his career, Walters has worked with artists including Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Sting, Yo-Yo Ma and Leonard Bernstein.
“Nobody’s worked with [Aiken]. They haven’t seen him, so they’re sort of excited about it,” Walters said before rehearsal on Wednesday. “But on the other hand, we’ve seen a lot of people.”
Walters says while many artists with whom he works are “best known from a distance,” he is often pleasantly surprised, as with Aiken. For example, when he worked on an album for Christina Aguilera, he was impressed.
“If you’re talking about talent, she can really sing,” he says.
Villanueva says he thoroughly enjoyed his pop-star experience and hopes he can do it again sometime.
“I wish that more people came to town needing orchestras,” he says. “It was a lot of fun.”
Contact reporter Rebecca Wise at wisedbk@gmail.com.
