April 3, 2019 :: Katherine Balch – Artifacts, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (world premiere) One particularly pleasant corner of the repertory is occupied by works that composers have written for good friends, often with that friend’s input and contributions. The Brahms Violin Concerto comes first to mind: Brahms wrote it for Joseph Joachim, one of Brahms’s earliest boosters...
:: The California Symphony presents EPIC BRUCKNER at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Sunday, May 5 at 4pm, featuring: Balch – Artifacts Bruckner – Symphony No. 7 BALCH – ARTIFACTS We’ll have to wait until May 5 to hear the world premiere of Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch’s violin concerto, Artifacts, but in...
April 2, 2019 :: Music Director Donato Cabrera conducts Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 at the California Symphony’s season finale—a piece he feels he’s been “waiting more than one lifetime” to conduct. We talked with Maestro about Bruckner, what he finds so appealing about the Seventh Symphony, and how his perspective has been shaped by playing the French horn. 1. Your first instrument...
February 5, 2019 :: The Blackhawk Chorus is a premier community chorus that has built a loyal fan base throughout the East Bay since it was founded 28 years ago. The group joins the orchestra for ALL JOHN WILLIAMS—March 16 & 17 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek—to add drama for Saving Private Ryan and Star Wars battle scene selections on the program. We...
February 4, 2019 :: John Williams has been nominated for Academy Awards 52 times in a career spanning six decades. He has won five, but lost 47 times, which means that arguably some of his best and most popular works were passed over. In this selected history of Williams at the Oscars, we take a look at 22 of...
January 13, 2019 :: A selection of Argentinian wines is available to pair with this concert. And of course, because this is the California Symphony, we want you to enjoy yourself, so you can sip your wine or other drinks—wines, beer, sodas and hot beverages—all from the comfort of your seat in the theater. ¡Salud! We have partnered with...
December 29, 2018 :: The California Symphony presents A TANGO WITH MOZART at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 8pm and Sunday, Jan. 20 at 4pm, featuring: Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin Piazzolla – Four Seasons of Buenos Aires Mozart – Symphony No. 39 Mozart Symphony No. 39 The...
:: I tend to get a little obsessed with my hobbies. It’s how I ended up here!”—Jennifer Cho This article was originally published in December 2018 and updated in January, 2022. When she is not playing the violin, Concertmaster Jennifer Cho is busy cultivating the food forest on her 1/10th acre home in Petaluma with bassist...
:: Sensual, seductive, and evocative. We get in the mood for A TANGO WITH MOZART, featuring the tango-infused Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, with our all-time favorite big screen interpretations of the dance. 1. El Tango de Roxanne – from Moulin Rouge The ’80’s Police hit gets a tango-flavored, gravelly-voiced makeover in the 2001 movie starring Nicole...
:: Concertmaster and soloist in January’s TAKE FLIGHT Jennifer Cho talks with us about playing The Lark Ascending, about her life outside of music (with her 14 feathery friends), and why performing over a swamp isn’t necessarily the greatest idea. This article was originally published in December 2018. Updated January 2022. As Concertmaster, the audience is used to seeing...
