California Symphony announces new season
A new series of Saturday evening concerts, performances of Mozart’s “Requiem,” Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3; and an appearance by Broadway star Manoel Felciano in Nathaniel Stookey and Lemony Snicket’s “The Composer Is Dead” are among the highlights of the California Symphony’s 2017-18 season, announced this morning..
The Walnut Creek orchestra’s season – its 31st, and fifth under music director Donato Cabrera – also includes a world premiere by recently named California Symphony Young American Composer in Residence Katherine Balch, the West Coast premiere of Stookey’s “YTTE” (Yield to Total Elation) and choral works by Vaughan Williams and Arvo Part featuring conductor Ragnar Bohlin with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Chorus.
Guest artists on the new season include Van Cliburn competition winner Haochen Zhang, performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, soprano Maria Valdes as soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” and Alexi Kenney, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
The fall season opens Sunday Sept. 24 (4 p.m.) at the Lesher Center for the Arts, with Cabrera leading Mahler’s 4th Symphony – the orchestra’s first Mahler since the 1997-98 season – with Valdes as soloist. Stookey’s “YTTE” and Barber’s “Knoxville” complete the program.
Felciano, who has made frequent appearances at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) and who opens in “Amelie” on Broadway in April, joins Cabrera and the orchestra for two performances of “The Composer Is Dead” on Dec. 23 (4 and 8 p.m.) Selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” Suite complete the program.
Programs in 2018 include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”; Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with Kenney (Jan. 20-Jan. 21); and Mozart’s “Requiem,” with Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” and Arvo Part’s “Te Deum” (March 17-18). The season ends with the Balch premiere, along with Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3 (May 6.)
Season subscription tickets, $99-$288, are on sale. Single tickets go on sale July 27. Call 925-280-2490, or visit www.californiasymphony.org.