Violinist works well with Jerusalem Symphony

With a program of works from Israel and the United States, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra brought solemnity and joy to its performance Thursday at Artemus Ham Hall.

Music director and principal conductor Leon Botstein is said to enjoy evenings that include less familiar offerings, as was the case here.

The evening opened with "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Hatikvah," the national anthem of Israel. This was followed by Erich Sternberg's "The Twelve Tribes of Israel," which sometimes showed its Romantic roots and other times seemed intentionally to jar the listener into required focus.

Featured violinist Robert McDuffie was excellent from the first notes of the opening violin solo of Leonard Bernstein's "Serenade." He and the orchestra handily moved from straying passions to reflective contemplation, with diminutive yet telling emotion.

McDuffie threw himself into the music, often on his toes as he emphasized notes, other times moving forward into the music or seeming to lose himself in the melody while silently waiting for his next solo. He and the orchestra worked well together, each contributing without overshadowing.

After intermission, the 99-member orchestra returned with a quality offering of Aaron Copland's final symphony, "Symphony No. 3."

Botstein brought the orchestra back for two encores: a fun "Blue Tango" by Leroy Anderson and the serious "Jerusalem of Gold" by Naomi Shemar that was featured in "Schindler's List."

A minor negative was the fact that the orchestra did not position itself on risers, meaning much of the audience could not see beyond the first few musicians. And the lighting for McDuffie was uniformly bad, as he played in the shadows for virtually all of his performance.