Community Newsletter of the Long Beach Symphony
WINTER 2017, Vol. 1 | No. 3
Symphony Concerts for Young People! February 2 & 3, 2017
A big THANK YOU goes out to the seventy-four superhero Ovation! volunteers who helped usher approximately 12,000 fourth and fifth graders into the Terrace Theater at our 39th Annual Symphony Concerts for Young People on February 1st and 2nd. We are lucky to have a group so passionately dedicated to supporting music education in our community. It could only have gone so smoothly with Music Curriculum Leader Jim Petri, and Ovation! SCYP Co-Chairs Marilyn North and Josefa Curtin at the helm. Maestro Preu’s theme of Symphonic Super Heroes and repertoire selections were very well received. Students enjoyed visiting with costumed characters on the Terrace Plaza as they waited excitedly to enter the theater. The energy inside was buzzing with anticipation as they waited for the concert to begin. Students were attentive and engaged the whole concert. The orchestra played selections from John Williams, Aaron Copland, Morton Gould and of course Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Four lucky students selected from the audience were invited on stage for an unforgettable experience of conducting the orchestra in John Phillip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. The LBUSD All-District High School Honors Orchestra played at a highly elevated level sitting amongst our professional orchestra. Some say it was the best education concert yet! We are very grateful to the LBUSD Board of Directors for sponsoring the program this year. We celebrated our education donors with a reception attended by LBUSD officials including Superintendent Chris Steinhauser, LBUSD Board President Jon Meyer, Music Curriculum Leader Jim Petri, government officials from Congresswoman Janice Hahn’s office, Mayor Robert Garcia’s office, LA’s 15th District Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office, Executive Director of the Arts Council for Long Beach, Griselda Suarez, The Munzer Foundation, Boeing, Opus Bank Foundation & the Evalyn Bauer Foundation. A special thanks to Bobbie Cusato and friends for once again providing lovely refreshments for the reception.
In This Issue
Symphony Concerts for Young People
A Letter From the Ovation! President
Ovation! Council
Meet Your Ovation! Board
Meet Rong-Huey Liu
Peggy’s POPS! Preview
Encore: The Legacy Society
Tributes & Memorials
2017–2018 Seasons
Crescendo 2017: Moon River Gala
2017 Lexus Opportunity Drawing
FUN FACT 12,000 children attend our Symphony Concerts for Young People!
Ovation! Volunteers of the Long Beach Symphony A Letter from the Ovation! President
Ovation! Event Volunteer Opportunities April 1, 2017 Crescendo 2017: A Moon River Gala Ebell Club Long Beach May 13, 2017 Lexus Opportunity Drawing Long Beach Arena
Contact Bobbie Cusato at info@LongBeachSymphony.org to volunteer.
Upcoming Score Issues Spring (May) Summer (August) Sign up for The Score on our website!
Ovation!
249 E. Ocean Blvd., Suite 200 Long Beach, CA 90802 Tel: (562) 436-3203 Fax: (562) 491-3599 Email:
ovation@LongBeachSymphony.org
Web:
Hello everyone: the new year is moving along at a swift pace with lots of exciting things happening at our Symphony. Many of you attended the luncheon for our new music director, Maestro Eckart Preu and had a chance to speak with him up close and to hear his ideas and thoughts about his new position with our Symphony. It was a delightful event at The Reef. There will be a similar event with our dear friend JoAnn Falletta, former Music Director with Long Beach Symphony 1989–2000, on June 8th at Virginia Country Club. So mark your calendars! A different and new benefit for members has been created this month! An Ovation! Terrace Theater reception area has been created just for our members to get together prior to the concert and during intermission. It is located to the right of the main entrance, close to the bar, near the Patron Engagement Table. It is a special place to connect and socialize with other members and their spouses and friends. My husband Dan and I had the pleasure of hosting the first reception, at the concert on February 4th. It was so enjoyable to greet many of our members and we had the opportunity to exchange ideas and thoughts about the new conductor, the concert etc. It was fun and I am sure many of the general audience wondered: “Who are those people, what are they doing?” The area has a lovely sign indicating “Ovation Members”. Hopefully this will register so they become more familiar with our volunteer group. We had prospective members ask questions and take membership forms. During the intermission there were no visitors and I would like to have feedback as to why you think that was? Was there too little time, do people stay in their seats? Too much trouble to come to the entrance area? I’d like to hear from you regarding this new benefit, please email or call me. We are expecting this area to be hosted by different volunteers at each concert, so please contact me if you wish to help. Peggy and Jim Lymburner will be the hosts at the March 4th concert. As well as giving us the chance to get to know one another better, this social benefit will be part of our ongoing movement to build the membership, and to develop our visibility. Thank you each and everyone for all you do! Pauline Eade-Sheppard (Ovation! President)
www.LongBeachSymphony.org
Join us at our new Ovation! area in the Terrace Theater!
About Ovation! The mission of this organization shall be to support the programs, policies and goals of the Long Beach Symphony through the coordination and facilitation of volunteer activities.
Ovation! Volunteers of the Long Beach Symphony 2016–2017 Ovation! Council President: Pauline Eade-Sheppard President-Elect: Ethel Sanford Past President: Mary Hester Administrative Secretary: Judy Boland Treasurer: Patricia Salkowski Membership: Mary Hester, Joanne Irish Ovation! Occasion/Social: Cathryn Smyth, Doug Smyth, Peggy Lymburner, Vickie Sawtelle Coordinator of Volunteers: Bobbie Cusato, Shannon Taylor Marketing & Engagement Advisors: Steve Lang, Mary Lang Education Programs SCYP: Josefa Curtin, Mary McKinley, Marilyn North, Joanne Irish IPZ: Ethel Sanford. Sally Boyne Newsletter Editor Advisor: Renee Simon Nominating Committee: Mary Hester Parliamentarian: Miep van Tyen Personal Communications: Pat Mohler Rehearsal Receptions: Shannon Taylor Tributes/Memorials: Joan Gustafson
Meet Your Ovation! Board by Renee B. Simon Patti Salkowski’s soft South Carolina accent belies her sharp, numbers personality. Joining Ovation! only two years ago, she was quickly recruited to serve as board treasurer – a volunteer job that fits her to perfection. In her current real life Patti works for H&R Block churning out tax returns long hours every day. Even two months before our April 15 deadline she saw more than 100 clients in just one two-week period. For the dozen or so years before moving to Long Beach in 2014, Patti was a program analyst for the US State Department working with the computers that handled all the payrolls for all State Department employees throughout the nation and overseas. It’s a job she says she “fell into” since her degree is in Spanish and during the 1970s, she was an interpreter for Puerto Rican migrant farm laborers. How did she find Ovation!? By sitting next to Marilyn North at a Symphony concert. Patti is a classically-trained pianist, has a grand piano in the living room, and among those whom she taught is her son currently working on his PhD in musicology at Princeton. Her daughter is a brand manager at Bel Foods (makers of Laughing Cow cheeses). They are an outdoors family. Among their various activities are lots of hiking, sail boating, rock climbing, and deep-sea fishing. Her husband does the triathlon. What Patti has most enjoyed, however, were the years she had the privilege of devoting to being a stay-at-home Mom while the kids were growing up. She even home-schooled her son for his 5th grade. “That was the best,” she says.
Did you know? By Bobbie Cusato Maestro Eckart Preu attended 27 events in just 6 days when he was here in late January and early February for the opening 2017 Classics concert. Of course, this included rehearsals and four Concerts for Young People throughout the week and numerous receptions. The Long Beach Symphony ensembles performed at 53 elementary schools between January 13 and February 28 to bring small groups of professional musicians up close and personal with the primary graders. There will be a luncheon honoring Maestra JoAnn Falletta on Thursday, June 8th at Virginia Country Club.
Meet the Musician! | Get to know March 4 soloist, Rong-Huey Liu 1. When did you first play the oboe and when did you fall in love with it? I started playing oboe in the third grade and fell in love with it by the 5th grade when I first heard the Martinu Oboe Concerto. 2. What was your most memorable performance? The César Franck Symphony in D minor. I was only 17 years old and newly arrived in America. It was my first performance in a full-size orchestra with the New England Youth Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Benjamin Zander. Sitting in the center of the massive orchestral sound was so powerful that it brought out emotions I had never experienced before. This influenced my musical choices to also include great orchestral repertoire. 3. What kind of emotions or feelings can we expect when we hear you perform Lebrun’s oboe concerto No. 2? Lebrun was a famous oboist in the Classical period often praised for his divine oboe sound. He was married to Franziska Danzi, whose brother Franz was a composer well-known for writing virtuosic flourishes that are technically difficult but at the same time melodic. Lebrun displayed much of that virtuosity in his music. His melody is original and elegant. I am constantly amazed at his stamina and technique that enabled him to play continuously for quite a while without taking a breath. 4. What are some of your non-music hobbies?
Cooking, scenic hiking, reading and arts & crafts with my girls. 5. How many years have you been in the Long Beach Symphony? I won the Long Beach Symphony principal oboe audition in 2012. Interestingly, when I was still a student at USC in 1995, Long Beach Symphony had a principal oboe audition and to my surprise I advanced to the semi-final. Winning this audition conclusively in 2012 made me feel that I was meant to be a part of Long Beach Symphony family. It was only matter of time! 6. What was your most memorable solo performance and why? My most memorable solo performance was the John Corigliano Oboe Concerto with the Riverside County Philharmonic under the baton of Tomasz Golka in 2013! Corigliano’s Oboe Concerto is brilliantly written and technically challenging so it is rarely performed. The piece goes right to the heart of the oboe’s essence, and it is so characteristic that it can not be played effectively on any other instrument. Maestro Golka and I met with Corigliano in New York to perform the concerto for him. Working closely with a musical giant such as Corigliano, and discussing his insights into his piece was deeply inspiring! The experience was unforgettable! 7. Favorite composer and composition? This always comes with a complicated answer! There are certain compositions that always stir my emotions greatly. I love the oboe solo in the Barber Violin Concerto, the Dvořáks Song to the Moon from Rusalka, Chopin’s Nocturnes, Strauss’ tone poems, Brahms, Mahler and Rachmaninoff’s orchestral works. Too many to name them all! 8. What concert are you looking forward to the most in the 2017–2018 season? I look forward to Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet concert very much! It is a program with my favorite pieces that are exciting to play and listen to! 9. Favorite Long Beach Symphony POPS! concert you have performed in? Whenever there is challenging music with amazing soloists, I enjoy them all very much! 10. Impression of new music director, Eckart Preu? Maestro Preu is a down to earth, no nonsense person with a great sense of humor! His knowledge of the music is vast and very effective in his conducting technique and rehearsals. I look forward to working with him very much! Don’t miss Rong-Huey perform Lebrun’s Oboe Concerto No. 2 live on March 4th!
Symphonic Spectacular: See the Music!
Upcoming Concerts March 4, 2017 Beethoven & Dvořák Terrace Theater March 11, 2017 Symphonic Spectacular: See the Music! Long Beach Arena April 29, 2017 An Evening of Mozart Terrace Theater May 13, 2017 Up All Night: Music of the ‘80s Long Beach Arena June 10, 2017 A JoAnn Falletta Homecoming Terrace Theater
Upcoming Events April 1, 2017 Crescendo 2017: A Moon River Gala Ebell Club Long Beach May 13, 2017 Lexus Opportunity Drawing Long Beach Arena
Peggy’s POPS! Preview! by Peggy Magee On Saturday, March 11, fan-favorite and past Principal POPS! conductor, Michael Krajewski, will ascend the podium to conduct “Symphonic Spectacular: See the Music!” This concert will be a multi-sensory experience featuring stunning images projected on our giant screens that are actually choreographed to the music. Some of the pieces that will be featured are Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, Bill Conti’s The Right Stuff and a very special tribute to John Williams, who recently celebrated his 85th birthday on February 8. In addition, there will be some Long Beach-centric moments during the Beach Boys medley with special footage of our beloved city. There will also be an opportunity for some audience participation, so send us a photo of you and your pet and you just might see them on the big screen during Talk to the Animals! Photos may be submitted to bigscreenconcert@me.com. Purchase tickets at www.LongBeachSymphony.org or by calling (562) 436-3203.
Beethoven & Dvořák | Classical Series Paul Polivnick, conductor | Rong-Huey Liu, oboe On March 4th, your evening will begin with Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. – one of four overtures the composer wrote for his only opera. Following, the Symphony’s incredible principal oboist, Rong-Huey Liu, takes center stage in Lebrun’s Oboe Concerto #2 in G Minor. Lebrun was the leading oboe player of the 1770s and ’80s, and when he died at the young age of 38, he had traveled Europe as a soloist and composed at least 18 concertos for his instrument. The very fast, lively first movement moves into a charming, lyrical, Mozartian second movement that all will enjoy. Following intermission, the Symphony will present Dvořák’s Symphony #8 in G Major (1889) that features a distinctive “bird-call” flute motif in the 1st movement. Optimistic and cheerful, the melodies of this work have an unmistakably Czech flavor perfect for this early spring performance. Purchase tickets at www.LongBeachSymphony.org or by calling (562) 436-3203.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE 2017–2018 Classical Series ALL CONCERTS CONDUCTED BY MAESTRO ECKART PREU 10.7.17 | INAUGURAL CONCERT Roger Wilkie, violin | Cécilia Tsan, cello Zemlinsky Brahms Strauss
The Mermaid Concerto for Violin and Cello, op. 102, A minor On the Beautiful Blue Danube, op. 314
11.11.17 | A SALUTE TO HEROES: A VETERANS DAY CONCERT Copland Barber Lowden Still Clyne Grofé
Fanfare for the Common Man Adagio for Strings, op. 11 Armed Forces Salute Symphony No. 2, G minor, Song of a New Race Within Her Arms Grand Canyon Suite
2.3.18 | SPANISH NIGHTS WITH PEPE ROMERO Pepe Romero, guitar Chabrier Surinach Sanlúcar Rimsky-Korsakov Bizet
España Ritmo jondo Medea, Guitar Concerto Capriccio espagnol, op. 34 Carmen Suites No. 1 & 2
3.10.18 | SCOTTISH FANTASY Caroline Goulding, violin Bach Mendelssohn Bruch Davies
Air on the G String Symphony No. 3, op. 56, A minor, Scottish Scottish Fantasy, op. 46 Orkney Wedding with Sunrise
4.28.18 | PROKOFIEV’S ROMEO & JULIET Benjamin Beilman, violin Strauss Mozart Higdon Prokofiev
Don Juan, op. 20 Violin Concerto No. 3, G major blue cathedral Selections from Romeo and Juliet, Suites No. 1 & 2
6.2.18 | RACHMANINOFF & TCHAIKOVSKY Fei-Fei Dong, piano Glinka Rachmaninoff Tchaikovsky
Kamarinskaya Piano Concerto No. 2, op. 18, C minor Symphony No. 2, op. 17, C minor, Little Russian
Program and artists subject to change.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE 2017–2018 POPS! Series PARTY AT THE POPS! MUSIC • DINNER • DRINKS • FRIENDS • FUN 10.14.17 | LIGHTS, CAMERA, POPS! Ben Rous, conductor | Long Beach Camerata Singers, choir Experience epic film music of the last three decades as the orchestra performs masterpieces from Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, and much more. Plus, a grand John Williams suite featuring Long Beach’s own Camerata Singers!
11.18.17 | A NIGHT AT THE COTTON CLUB Byron Stripling, conductor, vocals & trumpet Carmen Bradford, vocals | Ted Louis Levy, vocals & tap dancer Tap dance back in time to the historic and raucous Cotton Club! Featuring greatest hits by Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters and more!
2.17.18 | THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK - ISN’T IT ROMANTIC? Eckart Preu, conductor Susan Egan, vocals | David Burnham, vocals Bring your Valentine and dance the night away to romantic love songs from the Great American Songbook with the Long Beach Symphony and Broadway stars, Susan Egan and David Burnham. Don't miss your chance to see Maestro Preu make his POPS! debut!
3.17.18 | CELTIC SPIRIT WITH EILEEN IVERS Brian Byrne, conductor | Eileen Ivers, fiddle Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with nine time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion and music star of Riverdance, Eileen Ivers. Joined by her band, Immigrant Soul, they will change the way you think about the violin and Celtic music!
5.12.18 | FIESTA FINALE WITH PONCHO SANCHEZ AND HIS LATIN JAZZ BAND Matt Catingub, conductor | Poncho Sanchez, conga Get on your feet and get ready for a high energy evening of music featuring Poncho Sanchez as he reunites with conductor Matt Catingub to present some of the most exciting latin pop and jazz from the past few decades.
Subscriptions and subscription renewals available online at www.LongBeachSymphony.org or by calling (562) 436-3203 ext. 1.
PRESENTED BY
POPS! SERIES SPONSOR
Encore: The Legacy Society of the Long Beach Symphony Making a Planned Gift -- What it Means to You and to the Symphony Planned Giving is remembering a charity, like the Long Beach Symphony, in your will or estate plan. What does that mean for the giver? By putting the Foundation for the Long Beach Symphony or the Long Beach Symphony Association in your will or estate plan, you are helping the orchestra effectively plan for its future. The music you love will continue! It means that you may receive tax benefits because of your donation. It means that you become a member of Encore, the Legacy group of donors and the Symphony can show its appreciation for your gift. What does it mean for the Long Beach Symphony? It means that the Symphony can do a better job planning for the future, knowing there are secure funds in the Endowment. It means that in addition to revenue from ticket sales and special events, the Symphony has a yearly donation from the Foundation it can count on as part of its annual budget, enabling the Symphony to reach more adults and more families. What is the difference in giving to the Foundation for the Long Beach Symphony or to the Long Beach Symphony Association? The Foundation for the Long Beach Symphony is a separate entity that manages the funds that are donated for endowment purposes. The corpus is invested and every year the Foundation uses income from its investments to make a donation to the Symphony to be part of its annual budget.
Funds received by the Long Beach Symphony Association are used for current operating expenses, such as underwriting a concert or education program for a particular year. We would be happy to send you a Planned Giving brochure that includes a form you may wish to fill out and return to the Symphony, indicating your interest in Planned Giving. Or, call Genevieve Macias at 562.436.3203 ext. 226 or email her at gmacias@LongBeachSymphony.org. If you have already included the Symphony in your will or estate plan, thank you! Please let the Symphony know so you may be included in the Encore Society events. And, you have the pleasure of knowing you are helping make symphonic music available for generations to come!
Thank you for remembering the Symphony! Margie Masterson, Chair, Planned Giving Committee Long Beach Symphony Board of Directors
Tributes & Memorials Ovation! members have an opportunity to make donations to the Long Beach Symphony in the form of tributes, also memorials. Below is the form that can be used to make a donation. Just complete the information below and mail in your donation to the Long Beach, Symphony office at 249 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 90802. Joan Gustafson, Tributes/Memorial Chair Simply fill out the form below and mail to my attention at the Long Beach Symphony office.
Your Information:
Gift made in Honor/Memory of:
_____________________________________ Name
______________________________________ Name of Person Honored/Memorialized
_____________________________________ Address
______________________________________ Occasion/Message
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ City, State, Zip ______________________________________ Email
Send card to: _______________________________________ Name _______________________________________ Address
______________________________________ Phone
_______________________________________
Long Beach Symphony is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating under Federal Tax ID 95-6004958.
When you make a tribute the amount of the gift will not be disclosed and Ovation is pleased to send an acknowledgment of your gift to the person or family you designate.
Please make checks payable to Long Beach Symphony Association 249 E. Ocean Blvd., Ste. 200, Long Beach, CA 90802 Please Charge my __ Visa __MasterCard __ Amex ___Discover
Amount: $ ______________
Cardholder’s Name: _____________________________________________________ Card Number: _________________________________
Phone: _______________________________
Exp. Date: _____________
Email: _______________________
Signature: _____________________________________ Thank you for your generous support.
UP ALL NIGHT: MUSIC OF THE ‘80S May 13 | Long Beach Arena Concert at 8:00 PM BYO Picnicking at 6:30 PM
OMG, a finale of totally awesome ‘80s music featuring songs from Lionel Richie, Sting, Cyndi Lauper, Elton John, and more! Wear your favorite ‘80s attire! Visit www.LongBeachSymphony.org for tickets!