The final concert offers comfort and hope in difficult times. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony" to distinguish it from No. 25, the only other symphony he wrote in a minor key. It is one of his last works, showing him at his most introspective and thoughtful. The ...
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a South African male choral group singing in the local styles of isicathamiya, which developed in the mines of South Africa, and mbube, rhythmic homophonic a cappella singing. They became known internationally after performing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland, and have won multiple awards, including five Grammys. Their ...
In their early days, Brooklyn-based Damn Tall Buildings didn’t rehearse; they busked. Now, whether live or on record, the band still radiates the energy of a ragtag crew of music students playing bluegrass on the street. But anchoring that energy are their instrumental chops, their strong songwriting, and their varied influences that stretch beyond bluegrass, ...
Allan Pollack will conduct his own “From an Ancient Book,” written especially for the Festival Orchestra. The brilliant colors of Stravinsky’s ballet score for “The Firebird” will explode in sparkling music that brought instant success to the composer and has delighted audiences ever since. The concert concludes with perhaps the most beloved of all piano ...
A singer’s talent is complete when they can bring a crowded dive bar to a collective hush and also get one of the biggest audiences on the planet to a collective standing ovation. Stephanie Anne Johnson is that special singer. Stephanie can don a cowboy hat and sing over a slide as old timers weep. ...
With its fusion of bluegrass instrumentation and folk-rock amplification, Rose’s Pawn Shop has spent the better part of two decades perfecting a sound that’s as diverse as the band’s native Los Angeles. Their past releases offer modern day roots music shot through with electric guitar, fiddle, raw percussive stomp, and stacked vocal harmonies. It’s a ...
Maiya Sykes completely and utterly wowed the audience at the 2023 Big Band concert. She’s a former back-up singer whose rendition of “Stay with Me” on The Voice in 2014 catapulted her to lead singer fame. Based in Los Angeles, Sykes is a classically trained musician who graduated from Yale and studied with Betty Carter ...
Mozart’s comic masterpiece shows us what can happen when two sisters and their suitors are tested by a manipulative friend, Don Alfonso. The men accept his wager that their brides-to-be will remain faithful to them, and orchestrate a plot to test that hypothesis: they will be “called away to war,” but will in reality disguise ...
When virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond and runs naked through the wide open fields of bluegrass/Americana, JigJam is born. Bluegrass and American Folk music originated from the group’s home, and now JigJam is here to take it back! Described as “The best Irish band in bluegrass,” JigJam has been hailed as “Ireland’s answer to ...
Embark on an evening of soul-tinged jazz and fusion, with a look to the future, marbled by intricate glistenings of electronica and hip-hop. This trio, who tours throughout the year with Chris Botti as his rhythm section, features Albion native Julian Pollack on piano and synthesizers, Juilliard-trained Dan Chmielinski on bass and synthesizer, and the ...
Mr Sun is made up of some of the most original musicians to apply themselves to the American string band genre. Legendary fiddler Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent, and is a member of the original "nuclear" generation of pickers who extended bluegrass, ...
The opening concert begins with a wild gallop of gauchos over the plains of Argentina in Ginastera’s Estancia. Cellist Evan Kahn is featured in two works, the dramatic Elgar Cello Concerto, which depicts hope for the future after the tragedy and loss of war, and the lovely Elégie by Fauré. Moussorgsky’s grand “Pictures at an ...
Miko Marks is one of the Bay Area’s most visible country music singers, but recently her role as a Black, woman country music pioneer has gained attention. Marks, who lives in Oakland, was named one of CMT’s Next Women of Country in 2022 and recently made her third appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. The ...
A musical ensemble based in Charleston, South Carolina, Ranky Tanky specializes in jazz-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music, a culture that originated among descendants of enslaved Africans along the coast of South Carolina and nearby islands. Apart from lead vocalist Quiana Parler, four of the group's members—Quentin Baxter, Kevin Hamilton, Clay Ross, and Charlton Singleton—previously ...
This new project finds Alicia and Michael Olatuja reuniting in music. OLATUJA blends Afro-Beat, Jazz, Funk, and Soul. Praised by the New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone and an amiably regal presence on stage,” Alicia Olatuja has been captivating audiences with her exquisite vocals and artistic versatility. She first ...
Allan Pollack will open this concert by conducting his own “Scenes from the Pandemic,” inspired by sounds he heard while sheltering in place on his farm. Stephen Prutsman will play Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, the atmospheric tone poem for piano and orchestra. Before the magic has evaporated from that performance, Dvořàk’s ...
Every year since 2012, banjo master Bill Evans brought together a stellar collection of banjo players from all over the world and joined them with an all-star California-based band to present his California Banjo Extravaganza. In 2021, Bill changed the format to a gathering of well-loved bluegrass musicians with strong California connections. These musicians have ...
Julian Pollack, along with bassist Trey Henry and drummer Ray Brinker, will begin the evening with jazz standards beautifully and inventively performed. Tierney Sutton will join the band for the second half in a tribute to the great drummer Ralph Humphrey. A fabulous singer with a gorgeous trio—who could ask for more? Sutton is not ...
This year the big band musicians are going to find their groove with Maiya Sykes, a former back-up singer whose rendition of “Stay with Me” on The Voice in 2014 catapulted her to lead singer fame. Based in Los Angeles, Sykes is a classically trained musician who graduated from Yale and studied with Betty Carter ...
Concert Version; Guest Conductor Ryan Murray The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution, is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. Musicologists believe that the music was composed in just under three weeks, although the famous overture was actually recycled from two earlier Rossini operas. Nonetheless, The Barber has proven to be ...
Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, blues singer/composer Otis Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonic. Capable of exploring any musical mood at any given time, Taylor lets his audience experience the unexpected. While his music, an amalgamation of root styles in their rawest form, discusses heavyweight issues like murder, homelessness, ...
The Blind Boys of Alabama have the rare distinction of being recognized around the world as both living legends and modern-day innovators. They are not just gospel singers borrowing from old traditions; the group helped to define those traditions in 20th century and almost single-handedly created a new gospel sound for the 21st. Since the ...
From their base in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, this acoustic roots music collective has played the most prestigious festivals, listening rooms, and clubs in the world, cementing a reputation as one of the top independent bands. The Steel Wheels give folk, folk rock and Appalachian roots music a modern twist. Their records and performances are ...
To begin the classical Festival, Maestro Allan Pollack will lead the orchestra in Shostakovich’s Festive Overture in A Major, Op. 96, an appropriately effervescent opening. Mozart’s joyful Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major for violin and viola will feature soloists Fellowes and Kadarauch. The partnership and equality shared by the soloists creates a searingly beautiful sound ...
