Olympia Symphony provides romantic dinner music for Valentine’s Day

Among the duets on the program of “With Love,” the Olympia Symphony Orchestra’s free online Valentine’s Day concert, is one performed by violinist Jason Leng and pianist Jason Leng.

The performance of “Love Theme” from “Cinema Paradiso” that will be part of Saturday’s concert of romantic pieces — as in romantic love rather than the romantic style of music — is not the first time Leng of Chehalis has accompanied himself as well as serving as his own video producer and sound engineer.

“I’ve been playing music with myself for a long time,” he told The Olympian. “My earliest video, before I even had a proper camera, was about 10 years ago. I did a seven-part arrangement of a Vivaldi violin concerto, and I thought it would be fun to play all the different parts.”

That first video shows seven Lengs, each in one of the separate boxes that have become so familiar as videoconferencing software has become ubiquitous. In the “Love Theme” video, though, he appears to have cloned himself.

“He did a really neat presentation,” said Jennifer Hermann, the symphony’s executive director. “I was just tickled when I saw it.”

Leng, who put together the orchestra’s May video of “Pomp & Circumstance,” has always been fascinated by the creative possibilities of video production.

“I was inspired (by) movies such as ‘Parent Trap,’ where they could make twins out of one actor,” he said.

For “Love Theme,” he didn’t use a green screen to make himself a twin. Instead, he seamlessly matched two videos for the wide shots and pieced in close-ups filmed in separate takes to add more visual interest.

“Once you move the camera, you can’t get it back to exactly the same spot — or at least I can’t,” he said. “A lot of things have to be played multiple times, so the timing is right.”

For people spending Valentine’s Day at home, the hour-long concert can serve as background music, Hermann said.

“I wanted the ambiance of when you’re at a restaurant and there’s a musical group playing in the corner,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to encourage at-home Valentine’s Day dates and invite people to allow the symphony to serenade them.”

The concert was planned before restaurants were allowed to reopen, she said, but for those going out, the video will be available to watch at any time.

The orchestra also is encouraging those celebrating at home to enhance their experience by ordering takeout food and buying gifts from local businesses. Participating restaurants and retailers are listed on the symphony’s website.

The performances include solos, masked duos and a performance from the orchestra’s Feb. 14, 2016 concert.

And the concert isn’t just classical music, either: John Wells plays “The Very Thought of You” on trumpet, and pianist Hermann and violinist Austin Schlichting team up for “Across the Stars,” the love theme from “Star Wars Episode II.”

“I left it up to the musicians to choose romantic music that would work as background music,” Hermann said, “This really reflects our musicians’ tastes.”

‘With Love’

• What: The Olympia Symphony Orchestra is treating music lovers to a concert designed to set the mood for romance.
• When: Debuting at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, and available for viewing thereafter
• Where: Online
• Admission: Free
• More information: https://www.olympiasymphony.org/valentines

This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 5:45 AM.