September 14, 2009
LJS&C Offers an Adventurous New Season – (e)Merging Voices

La Jolla, Calif. (September 14, 2009) — The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) launches its 55th season the weekend of October 31-November 1 . The 2009-2010 series, themed (e)Merging Voices, highlights the ensemble’s 120-voice chorus on three of the six concert weekends in three major choral works: Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, with its brash mix of classical music and pop culture; Karol Symanowski’s hauntingly beautiful Stabat Mater; and Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem. The season also brings new “voices” in the musical world to local audiences, including Chinese pipa player Wu Man and Grammy-award winning soprano Susan Narucki in their debuts with the orchestra.

“There is a strong appeal to each and every concert of the season, beginning with the season-opener that features two works on anybody’s ‘Top 25’ list, the Miraculous Mandarin and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony,” says Music Director Steven Schick, who will conduct five of the six concerts.

The October 31- November 1, 2009 concert pairs Bela Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite with his Romanian Folk Songs. The two works frame Argentine-Israeli composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Three Songs for Soprano & Orchestra featuring Susan Narucki, recognized as one of today’s leading interpreters of contemporary music. The concert concludes with one of the most powerful symphonies ever written, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7

Grab your tie-dyes and love-beads as we return to the Age of Aquarius on December 4-6 with three performances of Leonard Bernstein’s stunning, often controversial, Mass, an icon of the 1970s. Performing the central role of the Celebrant will be Ken Anderson, director of the Gospel Choir at UCSD. The work will be staged for three choruses, including children’s chorus, rock and blues bands, orchestra, and a host of soloists. This concert is a San Diego premiere of this work.

 “Mass incorporates theater, street music, beautiful classical music, and pre-recorded music – almost anything you can think of to fit into a concert hall will happen in this concert,” says Schick.

On February 6-7 LJS&C welcomes renowned pipa player Wu man, who has been credited with introducing this traditional lute-like instrument to Western audiences. Wu man performs Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Pipa & String Orchestra, written for her by the late composer.The program begins with Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England and concludes with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (New World), a work the composer described as “greetings from America.”

“The February concert is about American music,” says Schick. “Harrison, a huge influence in American music, lived his life trying to incorporate Asian sounds into a Western format.  Dvorak wrote his New World Symphony during a two-year stay in this country. And Charles Ives’ snapshot of New England features that all-American image of two marching bands facing off across a field in a musical evocation that splits the orchestra in two.”

The March 13-14 program features music from Poland. Choral Director David Chase conducts the U.S. premiere of Krzyztof Penderecki’s heartfelt Chaconne—In Memoriam John Paul II. The work is followed by Karol Szymanowski’s unique symphony for piano and orchestra, Symphonie Concertante for Piano & Orchestra, featuring pianist Peter Gach, resident artist at Palomar College. Chorus and soloists then join the orchestra on the second half for Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, which the composer intended as a “Polish Requiem.”

The May 1-2 concerts offer two of the last symphonies composed by Mozart, Symphony No. 40 and Symphony No. 41. These profound works from Vienna’s golden age bookend a work from early 20th century Vienna – Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, featuring 21-one-year-old Pasha Tseitlin. This year’s Nee Commission, In Paradisum, composed by Benjamin Sabey, will also be premiered.

The season ends on June 5-6 with one of the key works of the 20th century and another premiere for San Diego, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. Written for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in World War II, this moving masterpiece is scored for monumental forces: boy’s choir, organ, chorus, three soloists, a chamber orchestra, and a symphony orchestra.

Performances take place in Mandeville Auditorium at University of California, San Diego. Concert times are 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Friday concert on December 4 begins at 8:00 p.m. Free pre-concert lectures are given one hour prior to each concert. Subscription prices are $55 (student), $122 (senior), and $143 (adult) for the entire six-concert series. Single tickets are also on sale: $15-$36. For more information, call the LJS&C office at (858) 534-4637.