October 5, 2020
Paquito D’Rivera (b. 1948) Aires Tropicales (1994) After Paquito D’River performed a dazzling jazz-inflected rendition of the Fantaisie-Impromptu on clarinet with combo backup, he pointed out to his Kennedy Center audience that the Fantaisie is the work of that esteemed Puerto Rican composer, Frédéric Chopin—who hails from the Caribbean side of Poland. It was charming,
October 5, 2020
Former Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch and returning artist Robyn Bollinger are joining creative forces again, this time for the all new virtual Second Saturdays @ California Symphony concert series. Read on to learn how Balch’s newest composition, Two Songs for Robyn, creatively incorporates sounds from a concrete jungle and the great outdoors. What’s the story
October 2, 2020
American violinist Robyn Bollinger made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age twelve. She came to national attention on the radio through her 2014 residency on PRI’s “Performance Today” and several appearances on NPR’s “From the Top.” In 2016, she was a recipient of a prestigious Fellowship from the Annenberg Arts Fellowship Fund. We talked with Bollinger,
February 28, 2020
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 On May 19, 1888 Tchaikovsky wrote his brother Modest that “now, little by little, with difficulty, I am beginning to squeeze the symphony from my benumbed brain.” He squeezed throughout the summer, and on August 14 sent this succinct message to
February 21, 2020
Young American Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch is about to complete her final World Premiere of her residency with the California Symphony. Katherine sits down with friends and upcoming featured artists to talk about vocal music, their shared history, and their weirdest performance moments. Kelly Guerra (mezzo-soprano), Molly Netter (soprano), and Alexandra Smither (soprano) are each
February 21, 2020
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 summer, I had a few days in between projects to do some hiking in Swiss Alps. During these few solitary days trekking around and over snow-covered summits,
February 20, 2020
By California Symphony Music Director Donato Cabrera. I suppose I could wax philosophically, in maestro-like fashion, and list all of the incredible opportunities our Young-American-Composer-in-Residence residency affords our chosen composer over the three years that they are with us. And while I believe all of these opportunities to be true and worthwhile, I’ll leave other
May 2, 2019
It’s been called “a model for residency programs across the country” (Mercury News). Not all orchestras around the country have resident composer programs, and among those that exist, the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence program is different in three key ways, says California Symphony Director of Operations & Education Sunshine Deffner. By Sunshine Deffner, Director
April 23, 2019
The fifth and final concert set of the 2018/19 season takes place on 5/5, Cinco de Mayo. Here’s our countdown of the top five things that make season finale concert EPIC BRUCKNER an epically wonderful way to celebrate the day. 5. Finale Fiesta For Cinco de Mayo, we’re bringing some Latin flavor to the Lesher
April 23, 2019
California Symphony Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch composed Artifacts for New England Conservatory friend and colleague Robyn Bollinger, based on four pieces that are core to solo violin repertoire. Each movement in Artifacts takes its inspiration from diverse works composed between the early 1800s and 1976. By Donato Cabrera, California Symphony Music Director “Robyn and I have