Alastair Willis
A
Triumphant Tenth Season for Symphonia Boca Raton
By Skip
Sheffield
In
today’s fast-paced, high-speed, 24/7 whirlwind we call life, sometimes we just
need to slow down and smell the flowers. Or, in some cases, sit back and listen
to the music. As South Floridians, how lucky are we to have our very own
world-class chamber orchestra right here, ready to please our auditory senses.
The SYMPHONIA|Boca Raton, celebrating its 10th season, is masterful at providing an artistic blend of orchestral music, from classical legends to today’s celebrated composers. And, thanks to loyal support from classical music lovers, The SYMPHONIA stands to be around at least another ten years.
The SYMPHONIA|Boca Raton, celebrating its 10th season, is masterful at providing an artistic blend of orchestral music, from classical legends to today’s celebrated composers. And, thanks to loyal support from classical music lovers, The SYMPHONIA stands to be around at least another ten years.
To kick
off this year’s popular Connoisseur Concert Series on Sunday, December 6, The SYMPHONIA
will present “Gypsy Airs,” a trio of symphonic works featuring Kodaly’s Dances
of Galanta, Beethoven’s Symphony #7, and renowned violin soloist, Charles
Wetherbee, performs Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. Grammy-nominated maestro Alastair Willis will
serve as Guest Conductor.
The
December Connoisseur Weekend begins with an 11:30 Friday Dec. 4 Box lunch with
the Symphonia at the Unitarian Congregation, 2601 St. Andrews Blvd. This event
offers music lovers a sample of The Symphonia’s rehearsal, along with
conversations with the musicians and guest artists. Grammy nominated Alastair
Willis, currently Music Director of the Illinois Symphony, with varied
experience as guest conductor, will speak about the “Gypsy Airs” program. The
box lunch cost is $35, or all four box lunches are $100.
Saturday,
Dec. 5 is a special day for children and their families, with an opportunity to
interact with the conductor and musicians starting at 10:30 a.m. in the
intimate, acoustically excellent Roberts Theatre of St. Andrew’s School, 3900
Jog Road. Admission is free for children and just $5 for adults.
The main
event is the 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6 Connoisseur Concert at Roberts Theatre. The
soloist is violinist Charles Weatherbee of the University of Colorado, Boulder
and first violin of the Carpe Diem String Quartet. He will be featured on
Mozart’s Violin Concert No. 5, A major. Beethoven’ Symphony No. 7, A major, op.
92 will be played. Mozart’s Violin Concerto should be familiar to most.
Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly is less familiar, but he is a major name in
classical music, having devised his own method of education. His “Dances of
Galanta” will be performed.
Subsequent
Connoisseur Concerts will be presented Jan. 8-10 with conductor and soloist
David Kim, violin for a program of Bach, Pachebel and Piazzola. The Feb. 5-7
Connoisseur weekend features guest conductor Carolyn Kuan and piano soloist
Alexandre Moutouzkine performing Copland, Poulenc, Faure and the ever-popular
Mozart. Finally March 18-20 welcomes returning guest conductor Gerard Schwartz
and renowned piano soloist Misha Dichter performing Beethoven, Ives and
Mendelssohn.
And for the second year, The SYMPHONIA | Boca Raton will offer two ENCORE performances at the Eissey Campus Theatre at Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens. The first, on January 9, will feature Conductor David Kim and “The Four Seasons” program; and the second, on March 22, will be “A Tribute to the Masters,” with Conductor Gerard Schwarz and world-renowned pianist, Misha Dicter as soloist.
And for the second year, The SYMPHONIA | Boca Raton will offer two ENCORE performances at the Eissey Campus Theatre at Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens. The first, on January 9, will feature Conductor David Kim and “The Four Seasons” program; and the second, on March 22, will be “A Tribute to the Masters,” with Conductor Gerard Schwarz and world-renowned pianist, Misha Dicter as soloist.
Season
subscriptions range from $150 to $250. Single tickets are $45-$75. Call
866-687-1201 or go to tickets@thesymphonia.org.
The
SYMPHONIA was founded in 2004 on a sound business model by Marshall Turkin and
Martin B. Coyne; both music professionals, with FPO principal trumpet Jeffrey
Kaye as manager (and now artistic director). They enlisted the help of generous
philanthropists Edith and Martin Stein for seed money and continuing support.
The result is an orchestra that, in addition to its four Connoisseur Concert
Season, performs in Palm Beach Gardens, accompanies the Master Chorale of South
Florida, and performs community concerts sponsored by the City of Boca Raton.
An outreach program provides education for young people.
No comments:
Post a Comment