UCLA Philharmonia, Chorale & Chamber Singers display wide range of music in upcoming weekend concerts
By Shannon Cosgrove
March 10, 2010 10:13 p.m.
For stressed out students and music lovers alike, 10th week’s musical performances offer a welcomed outlet. The first performance, today, will be UCLA Philharmonia concert, whose program includes AntonÃn Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6. The UCLA Chorale, Chamber Singers and University Chorus will perform various spiritual, classical and Korean choral arrangements on March 13.
This UCLA Philharmonia concert will be starting off with the overture to Gioachino Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri,” conducted by graduate student Henry Shin.
While most overtures usually begin loudly to quiet the crowd, Rossini sneaks in barely audible plucking strings at the beginning, followed by a crashing chord from the orchestra out of nowhere to wake everyone up.
“What I love about this piece is that it’s really funny and that comes through in the music. It’s kind of like party music,” Shin said.
Musically, this humor is accomplished through contrasting dynamics, instruments imitating others and bubbly, fast moving melodies.
Also on the program is AntonÃn Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6, full of bright and grand Czech folk melodies.
“This is one of Dvorák’s sunniest, warmest, most gracious symphonic compositions ““ very intimate melodies are transformed into the lushest, most powerful statements by the full orchestra,” said Professor Neal Stulberg, one of the conductors.
This concert will also feature Serge Koussevitzky’s “Double Bass Concerto,” featuring third-year double bassist Ben Pendergrass, soloist and winner of the Atwater Kent String Concerto Competition last month.
“It’s a big, lush, Russian romantic piece,” Pendergrass said. “It’s tiring but fun to play.”
This is one of the first times that Pendergrass has had a prominent solo in the Philharmonia to this extent, in a unique opportunity for the string bass to be featured as the star of the orchestra.
Both players and conductors look forward to presenting these pieces they have put a lot of effort into.
“I look forward to the connections that are made between the players and the audience,” Stulberg said.
Audiences will have yet another opportunity to hear live performances by musicians in the UCLA Chorale, Chamber Singers and University Chorus on March 13.
The show will start with “Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53″ by Johannes Brahms, conducted by graduate student Lois Kwak, for alto solo, Men’s Chorus and Chamber Orchestra.
Kwak said Brahms wrote this piece after going through a heartbreak, and this is shown in his music.
“Brahms was a very emotional person and expressed his emotions through his songs and music,” Kwak said.
The Chamber Singers & Men of the UCLA Chorale will also perform Korean traditional songs with the Traditional Korean Instrumental Ensemble and the women of the Chamber Singers.
Although these songs differ in culture and background, they are similar in style. By teaching singers how to sing in Korean, Kwak is exposing both the performers and the audiences to a different culture.
“I want to give a Korean (musical) taste to the audience,” Kwak said.
The next group in the musical buffet is the University Chorus, conducted by graduate student Anthony Maglione. One of the pieces it will be performing is “Te Deum” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“It is a brilliant, energetic chamber work,” Maglione said. “The choir is very energetic and has a lot of fun.”
Other pieces in the show come from eclectic places and time periods.
“We try and give a well-balanced performance of choral music ““ to show many varieties from baroque and Renaissance music all the way through to newly composed works and works from other countries,” Maglione said.
Professor Donald Neuen will also conduct a variety of choral pieces performed by the UCLA Chorale, in which both student conductors will also be performing along with undergraduates.
This is the second quarter and performance with the chorale for Brett Blackiston, a freshman in the tenor section.
Blackiston said he is looking forward to showcasing all the hard work the group has put into the pieces this quarter, on everything from Ludwig van Beethoven’s triumphant “Hallelujah Chorus” to Blackiston’s favorite “The Battle of Jericho,” a traditional spiritual piece.
“All the songs show a great deal of emotion, and Professor Neuen definitely tries to get that out of us,” Blackiston said. “He encourages us to sing not just with our voices but with our whole being, which definitely adds to the impact of the music on the audience.”
