Serious kudos are in order to the Chippewa Valley Symphony. Over the last couple weeks they made quite a media splash in the area as they prepared for the debut performance of an original 20-minute composition by local composer and DeLong Middle School music teacher Dennis Luginbill. On May 9 “Current of Change: An Eau Claire Story” was performed by music director Nobuyoshi Yasuda and the 65 members of the orchestra – and then met with a standing ovation from a huge crowd at the State Theatre. It was my first time at a local symphony performance and I was blown away (and quite frankly, choked up) as this amazingly beautiful and fun piece was performed along with a huge slideshow, assembled by the symphony’s executive director Mark Blaskey, depicting dozens of images of Eau Claire from the 1800s through today. Luginbill’s piece, written specifically for and about Eau Claire, deserves to be heard throughout the community for years to come – and I hope they find a way to make that happen. Well done.