March 18, 2024 :: With an impressive list of commissions and accolades to his name, Saad Haddad makes his California Symphony premiere as the 2024-2026 Young American Composer-in-Residence during BRAHMS OBSESSIONS. We talked to Saad to learn more about how he got here, his musical inspirations, and what he’s excited for as our newest resident composer. Welcome, Saad! Please...
January 16, 2024 :: GERSHWIN IN NEW YORK guest artist Marcus Roberts has been called "the genius of the modern piano" and has the honors to show for it—he's been a recipient of the Helen Keller Award for Personal Achievement, Artist-in-Residence for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, commissioned composer for Chamber Music America, and Grammy nominee for his 1996 album Portraits in Blue. We talked to Marcus to learn more about his music history and what it's like to improvise classics such as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
:: New York Times music critic Olin Downes described the opening passage of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as "an outrageous cadenza of the clarinet" after the piece's premiere in 1924. 100 years later, this passage is considered an iconic orchestral excerpt for professional and amateur clarinetists alike. We talked to California Symphony principal clarinetist Cory Tiffin about his history with the piece ahead of his solo in GERSHWIN IN NEW YORK.
January 2, 2024 :: Samuel Barber (1910–1981) Symphony No. 1, in One Movement, Op. 9 (1936, rev. 1942) It must have been lonely to be Samuel Barber there for a while. Almost alone of mid-twentieth-century American composers he eschewed the era’s prevailing bleak modernism in favor of a rich musical language that emphasized melody, opulent harmonies, and traditional structures....
December 21, 2023 :: Allen has been performing with the California Symphony since the very first concert back in 1986. He’s survived exploding canons and thrives on physical challenges like open water swimming in the Bay. Meet Principal Percussionist—and triathlete—Allen Biggs!
:: She’s no sports fan but she knows all about leaving it all out on the stage when she performs. Meet Principal Oboe Laura Reynolds!
October 25, 2023 :: Joining California Symphony for HANDEL—RIVERS OF INSPIRATION is Jon Mendle on the rarely-seen theorbo. Jon has toured with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, performed in Carnegie Hall, and won second prize at the 2021 Concorso di Musica Antica “Maurizio Pratola” international lute competition. We talked to Jon to learn more about his career...
October 19, 2023 :: Viet Cuong (b. 1990) Chance of Rain (2023) The Covid-19 pandemic will leave its stamp on our culture for many years to come. As we emerge from isolation and loss, there’s a sense of awakening in the arts—orchestras resuming their regular concert schedules, audiences returning to live performances, musicians back on the road after their...
September 13, 2023 :: In his career with California Symphony, it’s not common for Principal Percussionist Allen Biggs to play drum kit during concerts—let alone for two different pieces on the same program! In season opener COPLAND—AMERICAN TRADITIONS, Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto in D and Juan Pablo Contreras’ MeChicano both feature drum kits of various sizes and playing styles, reflecting...
May 12, 2023 :: More Timpani! William Walton’s Symphony No. 1 features not one but two sets of timpani—a first for timpanist Alex Orfaly in his career with California Symphony. Donato says you’re really looking forward to FRESH INSPIRATIONS because Walton’s Symphony No. 1 features two sets of timpani and two timpanists, and because you’ve never played this piece...
