September 25, 2023
No membership required, no agenda, no host: just an informal hang out for California Symphony concert-goers, musicians, guest artists, and staff. Attention all California Symphony concert-goers! Are you ready for an encore after the show? We’ve got the after party for you! What is it? Think of it as a backstage pass to mingle with
September 20, 2023
IT’S NOT OFTEN YOU HEAR OF AN ORCHESTRAL COMPOSER WITH EXPERIENCE TURNING TCHAIKOVSKY SCORES INTO HEAVY METAL! WE SAT DOWN WITH MECHICANO COMPOSER JUAN PABLO CONTRERAS TO ASK HIM ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO BECOMING A MEXICAN AMERICAN CITIZEN, HIS INTRODUCTION TO ORCHESTRAL MUSIC THROUGH FAMILY AS WELL AS THROUGH SYMPHONIC METAL, AND HOW HIS EXPERIENCES HAVE INFORMED HIS UNIQUE
September 14, 2023
Former Broadway “Fiddler on the Roof” star Kelly Hall-Tompkins talks with us about performing Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto—a piece she considers to be one of the greatest violin concertos of the 21st century—and about bringing Music Kitchen: Food for the Soul to Walnut Creek. Also covered: wine-tasting in Napa, and how Warner Brothers Cartoons influenced her career choice.
September 13, 2023
Wynton Marsalis uses a drum kit, sousaphone, and other non-traditional orchestra instruments to evoke the spirit of Bourbon St and his native New Orleans in his genre-bending Violin Concerto. We got down to brass tacks with Principal Tuba Forrest Byram to understand the differences between the tuba and the sousaphone, and their less famous love-child,
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
September 12, 2023
ACSO Press Release, Thursday, July 13, 2023 – The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) is pleased to announce that The California Symphony Alliance Event Committee is a recipient of the 2023 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Volunteer Award. ACSO launched the MVP Volunteer Award in 1996 to recognize exemplary volunteers, volunteer projects, and volunteer organizations and
September 5, 2023
Juan Pablo Contreras (b. 1987) MeChicano (2022) Juan Pablo Contreras joins a distinguished line of Mexican-born composers who have brought their sensibilities to concert audiences everywhere: consider Carlos Chavez, Silvestre Revueltas, Manuel Ponce, Arturo Marquez, and Gabriela Ortiz, and many others. Contreras brings his own particular approach to fusing Mexican folk music with the Western
April 18, 2023
Composer John Williams’ collaboration with director Stephen Spielberg has produced some of his best film scores. For William Walton, it was a partnership with celebrated British actor and director Laurence Olivier that resulted in some of the composer’s most enduring and iconic works, including soundtracks to four epic film versions of plays by William Shakespeare.
April 3, 2023
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 (1844) Hector Berlioz never met an applecart he didn’t want to upset, or an envelope he didn’t want to stretch. It was simply not in his nature to kowtow to prevailing fashion or to acquiesce to the dictates of the proletariat. Nor was he just some obnoxious
March 6, 2023
Who knew the triangle could be so expressive? Leave it to percussionist Victor Avdienko to navigate the triangle-a-thon in Rott’s Symphony No. 1 on the upcoming MAHLER’S INNER CIRCLE concerts. We can only agree that “We gotta fever… For more triangle!” via GIPHY You performed one single, epic, cymbal crash in the 2019 season finale
March 6, 2023
According to the SF Chronicle, Sara Couden once “drove the audience into convulsions of delight.” We get to know this Walnut Creek-based singer, acclaimed for her deeply soulful voice, rich tones, and warm personality. And spoiler alert, be careful on stage around bracelet beads… What’s a contralto and how’s it different from alto? AHAHAHH probably
March 2, 2023
Alexander Zemlinsky (1871–1942) Lustspiel Overture (1891) He was the little quiet guy amidst a bunch of big loud personalities. His brother-in-law was Arnold Schoenberg. He fell in love with Alma Schindler, who rejected him—too short, too homely, she said—and married Gustav Mahler instead. One of his early boosters was Johannes Brahms. Among his students we
January 19, 2023
Joseph Bologne was born in 1745 on the Caribbean island and French department, Guadeloupe.
January 5, 2023
Austrian-Romanian pianist Maria Radutu, soloist in February’s CHOPIN IN PARIS concerts, talks about moving from Romania to Vienna at age 14, and plotting a similar path to artistic freedom in later life. (And plot twist: A snoring dog disrupts an important performance.) Can you tell us a little about yourself? I was born in Bucharest, Romania, and
December 29, 2022
Ten concerts, including two world premieres… Ten years of Sound Minds music education classes, uplifting students in a local East Bay community… The launch of Music Director Donato Cabrera’s tenth anniversary season… Thank you for spending this memorable year with the California Symphony! Thank you for so much for joining us in 2022. We can’t
December 4, 2022
Mozart’s true life story needs no Hollywood-style embellishments, says Music Director Donato Cabrera. Tom Hulce as Wolgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1984 hit movie “Amadeus”. By California Symphony Music Director Donato Cabrera. A murderously jealous rival. A mysterious commission from a “gray messenger.” Rumors of poisoning… If the circumstances of Mozart’s death at 35 read like
October 19, 2022
Elizabeth Dorman on her musical beginnings, fostering cats, and performing while pregnant. Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in the heart of San Francisco at Castro and 15th and where my mom Anne still lives. I spent 8 years living in various places around New York City
October 19, 2022
PRINCIPALS JENNIFER CHO (CONCERTMASTER), PHILIP SANTOS (VIOLIN), MARCEL GEMPERLI (VIOLA) AND LEIGHTON FONG (CELLO) TAKE PROMINENT ROLES IN ELGAR’S INTRODUCTION AND ALLEGRO, A WORK THAT HARKS BACK TO THE CONCERTO GROSSO* FORMAT OF THE BAROQUE ERA. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THIS AWESOME FOURSOME AS THEY PREPARE FOR A PROGRAM THAT CELEBRATES THE MELODIC HEART AND SOUL OF THE
October 5, 2022
The 2022/23 season celebrates a number of milestones, including Music Director Donato Cabrera’s tenth season with the California Symphony. He sat down with us to share his reflections on the journey so far. Congrats on your tenth season with California Symphony! We should have got you a cake or something but all we’ve prepared are these
October 5, 2022
In June of this year, Sam Weiser was one of 24 violinists auditioning for a spot with the orchestra. Fast forward three months and after winning the Assistant Concertmaster position, Sam found himself fast-tracked for the top job for season opener INTERSECTIONS, as Concertmaster Jennifer Cho sat it out due to a scheduling conflict. We
October 5, 2022
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 (1905) Had Edward Elgar not been a musician, he just might have been a scientist or an inventor. Fascinated by technology, he was a keen amateur chemist who even patented a method to produce hydrogen sulfide. Thus it’s not surprising that he was an enthusiastic advocate of
August 24, 2022
In June of this year, Sam Weiser was one of 24 violinists auditioning for a spot with the orchestra. Fast forward three months and after winning the Assistant Concertmaster position, Sam finds himself fast-tracked for the top job for season opener INTERSECTIONS, as Concertmaster Jennifer Cho sits it out due to a scheduling conflict. We
August 10, 2022
Zoltan Kodály (1882–1967) Dances of Galánta (1933) If Zoltan Kodály ever resented his chronic second-banana status to friend and colleague Béla Bartók, he never let on. But it must have rankled. Bartók biographies invariably describe how, in his salad days, he traipsed through the backwaters of Eastern Europe, Edison cylinder recorder in tow, in search
August 9, 2022
Inbal Segev on YouTube Musings, Adding Virtuosity, and an Unexpected Connection to Resident Composer Viet Cuong. We last saw you in Walnut Creek in May 2017, in the days before this blog existed. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? I am very much looking forward to returning to play with the California Symphony!
May 18, 2022
This weekend’s EPIC FINALE concert was a fitting exclamation point on the season, as audiences got to hear Viet Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees (live and in-person, not on a screen!), Nathan Chan’s beautiful rendition of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s triumphant Symphony No. 5.
April 29, 2022
Principal horn Meredith Brown reflects on the return to live performances, stepping off the hamster wheel, and finding renewed purpose. Way back in 2020, while we were all reeling and horrified by suddenly being plunged into a pandemic, a part of me was learning about life. It turns out that even when you “do what
April 21, 2022
Viet Cuong (b. 1990) Next Week’s Trees (2021) “Light is an invitation to happiness,” wrote beloved poet Mary Oliver in “Poppies”. We could all use such an invitation about now. We’ve been through a period of darkness, of present dread and future fear, a time of foreboding and separation. But such things don’t last. The
March 30, 2022
From a foreign national anthem, to a groundbreaking world premiere that was immediately heralded by critics as “a masterpiece,” and unusual intermission on Sunday afternoon, this weekend’s concerts were almost as drama-filled as the Oscars. #WeStandWithUkraine Both concerts this weekend opened with a rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem, in solidarity with the people of
March 21, 2022
Everyone loves a good fairy tale, featuring dashing heroes and heroines, evil villains, and imperiled protagonists, navigating their way towards a hoped-for happy ending. Shared from one generation to the next, these cautionary tales occupy a special place in popular culture and they have inspired some of the most appealing and memorable music ever written.
February 24, 2022
Katherine Balch connects texts to celebrate women in Illuminate, the final commission and world premiere of her three-year tenure as California Symphony Young American Composer-in-Residence. By Katherine Balch This article was originally posted in February 2020. This summer, I had a few days in between projects to do some hiking in Swiss Alps. During these few
February 15, 2022
Thomas Adès (b. 1971) Three Studies from Couperin (2006) Thomas Adès loathed ‘sports days’—i.e., gym class—in school. (It’s a rare musician who can’t relate to that.) “I’d invent phantom tummy aches and stay at home and listen to records,” he recalls. Those records, collected by his poet/translator father, ranged from folk music to Stravinsky, and
February 1, 2022
Against a background of programming modifications and cancellations by other Bay Area performing arts orgs, California Symphony staff and musicians worked together to give wings to January concerts, TAKE FLIGHT. When All Negatives Add Up to a Positive Over four days of rehearsals and performances and after many dozens of COVID tests, musicians, staff, and
December 23, 2021
The “English horn” becomes the voice of the swan in Sibelius’ haunting tone poem Swan of Tuonela, in one of the best-known solos in the repertoire for the instrument. California Symphony’s James Moore tells us more about this enigmatically-named cousin of the oboe.
December 21, 2021
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) The Lark Ascending (1914/1921) Nostalgic longing permeates The Lark Ascending. Not a cozy nostalgia that looks back to a rose-tinted past, but rather a spiritual fervor for an idyllic paradise, expressed as the song of a soaring skylark and, on the earth below, human life—a poignant metaphor for our collective yearning
November 9, 2021
By California Symphony staff—Tuesday, November 9, 2021 You had so many great questions and comments! Here are a few things you may—or may not—have noticed as everything came together for FOUR SEASONS, the second concert set of the 2021-22 live and in-person California Symphony season. Your number one question was… What’s the thing that soloist
November 5, 2021
By popular request, California Symphony concert signature cocktails are back! Adding a taste of autumn to your FOUR SEASONS concert this weekend, Apple Cinnamon Sangria will be available at lobby bars inside the Lesher Center. (Price: $12) Here’s what’s inside this seasonal sipper: Diced apples & pears Red wine Cinnamon liquor A hint of spiced rum Apple
November 5, 2021
Soloist Alexi Kenney gives us the low down on playing the role of conductor in the first half of the upcoming FOUR SEASONS concerts, his Bay Area roots (and favorite eats), and the story behind his new body art. Your last performance in person with the California Symphony was for the Bruch Violin Concerto No.
October 28, 2021
—By Music Director Donato Cabrera The music of the Baroque is the music of the Age of Reason and The Enlightenment. It is ordered in that the instruments used are essentially always stringed instruments with occasional winds thrown in. It is balanced in that the soloists aren’t any more prominent or important than the group,
October 27, 2021
Anonymous (18th century) Italian English La Primavera Spring AllegroGiunt’ è la Primavera e festosettiLa Salutan gl’ Augei con lieto canto,E i fonti allo Spirar de’ ZeffirettiCon dolce mormorio Scorrono intanto:Vengon’ coprendo l’ aer di nero amantoE Lampi, e tuoni ad annuntiarla elettiIndi tacendo questi, gl’ Augelletti;Tornan’ di nuovo al lor canoro incanto: LargoE quindi sul
October 25, 2021
You might be thinking: “A 16th century instrument featured in modern day pop songs? No plucking way.” But it’s true! Here are our top 5 picks of pop songs that feature this unique keyboard instrument. 1. Scarborough Fair—Simon & Garfunkel Parsley, sage, rosemary and… harpsichord? Who remembers this? 2. Monday, Monday—Mamas & the Papas It
October 19, 2021
George Walker (1922–2018) Lyric for Strings (1946) “One finds something … that provides the genesis to motivate the direction in which you want to go.” That’s George Walker speaking in 1987, encapsulating the wisdom of a career that embodied American music at its most aspirational and accomplished. Lyric for Strings provides an ideal entry point
October 19, 2021
FOUR SEASONS harpsichordist Derek Tam explains how playing the harpsichord is different from playing a piano, and similar to being a drummer in a jazz combo. Are you a harpsichord specialist or do you play other keyboard instruments? I’m a keyboard omnivore. I specialize on historical instruments such as the harpsichord and fortepiano (that is,
February 21, 2020
Katherine Balch, California Symphony Young American Composer-in-Residence 2017-2020, sits down with Illuminate soloists artists Kelly Guerra and Alexandra Smither to talk about vocal music, their shared history, and their weirdest performance moments. This article was originally posted in February 2020. Kelly Guerra (mezzo-soprano), Molly Netter (soprano), and Alexandra Smither (soprano) are each incredible interpreters of music old
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