Please note: Dolly Parton is not performing or attending this event.
ROCCO PRIOLETTI
Staff writer
“Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony” weaves the fabric of Dolly Parton’s musical career for concertgoers and musicians alike to form a unique connection between each other and with Parton herself.
“I’ve had so many people come up to me afterwards and very kindly say, you know, ‘We love the symphony and the way you’ve written these arrangements,’ and I can tell that they’re connecting with this music,” said David Hamilton, the show’s arranger, orchestrator and conductor.
Though she will not physically perform at or attend the event, Parton will co-host the evening through videos in which she details personal life stories that accompany her songs.
Though she will not physically perform at or attend the event, Parton will co-host the evening through videos in which she details personal life stories that accompany her songs.
“It has that kind of feel of we’re talking to somebody that’s your friend, but she’s a superstar,” Hamilton said.
At 8 p.m. tonight, Hamilton will conduct the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra through Parton’s life in song in the Amphitheater.
Accompanying the CSO is a six-piece band of Nashville session musician veterans and three female singers.
Hamilton worked closely with Parton’s team to help the music come alive onstage. He arranged the pieces in a way that engages both the listener and the orchestra’s musicians, noting that an orchestra can oftentimes feel like a “backing band” in the context of country.
“I always had some input from [Parton’s] musical director and her management team, and we chose the songs. But then, I was really grateful to have the chance to just run with it. And my job was to really try to set these songs in a unique way,” Hamilton said.
One of the show’s creative left-turns happens during the arrangement of “Jolene” — one of Parton’s “best love songs,” according to Hamilton. The song starts as expected, based upon the insistent guitar riff as heard in the beloved studio recording.
“But, about two-thirds of the way, suddenly, I decided to change keys and write a whole chorus where the orchestra takes over and you’re like, ‘Whoa, I wasn’t expecting it,’” Hamilton said.
After the show’s development finished, Hamilton recalled the day he spent meeting Parton, where she filmed the videos that accompany the multimedia production onstage.
“She was so kind to me … You could just tell, kind of, seeing her eyes light up when she heard some of the demos of her songs in a new setting,” Hamilton said. “That was pretty special for me. It’s going to be a memory I take with me for a long time.”
Hamilton grew up with an “eclectic” musical background. He studied classical piano and still shared his parents’ love for country music. He recalled listening to country tunes on the radio while building model airplanes as a child.
“I’ll never forget my grandmother telling me — she was watching the Grand Ole Opry — and she said, ‘David, when are you going to be on that Opry show?’” Hamilton remembered and laughed.
Now, based in Nashville, Tennessee, Hamilton continues the city’s longstanding admiration of the genre nationwide.
“It was really fun to step over into my 30-year history in Nashville like, ‘Let’s write some country music for the symphony.’ And that’s been a joy for me,” Hamilton said.
