March 22, 2024 :: Robert Thies shot to fame in 1995 when he became the first American in four decades—since Van Cliburn’s Cold War win in 1958—to win a Russian piano competition, but things didn’t quite work out as planned… Robert talks with us ending up at zero after his feted win, diving into Clara Schumann’s diaries, and looking...
March 21, 2024 :: Saad Haddad (b. 1992) Mishwar (World Premiere, 2024) Saad Haddad, the California Symphony’s current Resident Composer, is acclaimed for his distinctive blend of Western art music and Middle Eastern idioms. Haddad has drawn Mishwar (Arabic مشوار(, meaning “A Trip,” out of his own memories. He tells us that: “Throughout my childhood, my family and I made frequent...
March 19, 2024 :: It’s rare that a concert is stopped midway through a piece, but that’s exactly what happened during Sunday’s MOZART SERENADES concert when part of an instrument broke off mid-performance. The heroic actions and incredible sight-reading talents of one California Symphony musician saved the day. Rarely played today, the basset horn is featured in a number...
March 7, 2024 :: Richard Strauss (1864–1949) Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 7 (1881) Richard Strauss may have been a mere puppy when he wrote his Serenade for wind ensemble, but he was a frisky puppy indeed, already the author of a handful of compositions including a string quartet, a piano sonata, and even an unpublished symphony. He was...
March 5, 2024 :: One violin, 12 brakedrums, 6 flowerpots, windchimes (glass and metal), dustbins, plumbing pipe… You could be forgiven for mistaking the instrumentation for Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra for a shopping list for ACE Hardware. This month in MOZART SERENADES, sandwiched between two giants of the wind repertoire—Strauss’ Serenade and Mozart’s Gran Partita—comes a quirky and rhythmic concerto by American maverick composer Lou Harrison. Concertmaster Jennifer Cho becomes the sole strings player on the program, featured alongside five stellar percussionists who use a variety of traditional and non-traditional instruments to create a unique soundscape.
December 21, 2023 :: Baseball, football, or basketball? Bruckner, Mahler, or Brahms..? ‘Tis the season of reflection and list-making. We asked Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera to talk us through his top three most memorable sporting moments and California Symphony concerts. Did yours make Donato’s list?
December 19, 2023 :: Another musician in his rookie year, this Illinois-born Cubs fan isn’t shy about tooting his own horn. Please meet principal horn Alex Camphouse!
:: He’s been a fixture in the brass section at California Symphony concerts for nearly 30 years and he plays a loud and shiny instrument… Please meet trumpeter Bill Harvey!
December 18, 2023 :: One of the original members of the California Symphony, Forrest enjoys being the only tuba player on stage at concerts most of the time, and he’s friendlier than you might think—especially if you have a really bad dad joke to share.
December 11, 2023 :: He’s Concertmaster Jennifer Cho’s right hand man. (Or left hand man, from her perspective on stage.) This East Coast-born violinist has made a home for himself in California. Meet Assistant Concertmaster Sam Weiser!
