KEEPING THE ORCHESTRA AFLOAT PERFORMING ON FLOATING STAGE WITH HELP OF A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN

The stage is being set locally n literally n for the American Wind Symphony Orchestra’s May performances in Lockport and Houma.

When music director Robert Austin Boudreau and his band of world performers take the stage aboard the Point Counterpoint II vessel and traveling art gallery, they’ll be standing atop a bit of Terrebonne Parish’s craftsmanship.

For 51 years, Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony has traveled aboard the vessel to bring communities along waterways in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean its unique blend of music performed by the globe’s finest musicians. In fact, New York Magazine’s music critic Alan Rich said the director “…motivates his top-notch young musicians to perform at their highest capacity.”

Over the 51-year stretch, the Point Counterpoint II traveled over 400,000 miles.

But as last year’s “Spirit of Louisiana” tour n named in honor of Louisianans after the 2005 hurricane season n got under way, the vessel was on its last leg.

Houma’s Benny Cenac, owner of Cenac Towing Company, and company Vice President Ray Sick came to the orchestra’s rescue. Cenac Towing Company helped the symphony keep its dates, towing the craft wherever it needed to go.

When the season came to a close, the orchestra went home, but the Point Counterpoint II stayed. And once again, Cenac and his company have come to the boat’s aid.

Cenac Towing Company has completely overhauled the craft from stem to stern, said Michael Knobloch, an event organizer. “Benny’s done nearly $750,000 worth of work on the boat,” he said. Cummins Engine Company, through its Memphis hub, provided a new engine for the aging vessel. And the craft has been outfitted with new navigational equipment and laptops loaded with software to help identify oncoming boats and water hazards.

“It’s been a long time since Point Counterpoint II has seen TLC,” Sick said.

In addition to installing a new generator and new propulsion units, Cenac Towing Company cleaned the hull’s interior and replaced all the fluids. The barge remained on dry dock since last summer while the work was completed.

Boudreau is ecstatic at the vessel’s fresh, new look. “The little clams and other crustaceans that attach themselves to the hull have been cleaned away,” the director said. Gone too is the rust and mud.

The American Wind Symphony’s 2007 tour, titled “All the Americas Journey with the Arts,” features musicians from six foreign countries: Japan, Macedonia, Philippines, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Mexico. This year marks the tour’s fourth visit to the Tri-parish region.

On Friday, May 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in Lockport in Company Canal, audiences are invited to watch from Bayouside Park.

Throughout the week, the musicians will also play at local nursing homes.

And audiences are invited to watch the orchestra’s daily rehearsals.

On May 16, the orchestra will perform a free concert at the Downtown Marina in Houma at 7:30 p.m. The audience is invited to bring chairs or blankets and enjoy the performance from the East Park side of the marina.

Almost 2,000 people attended last year’s Houma performance, according to Larry Frederick, vice president of the Houma Regional Arts Council. “We expect many more this year. The performance is made possible by the many sponsors and families that provide housing for the performers,” he said.