By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Southern California News Group
The Pittance Chamber Music Ensemble will relocate from the LA Opera pit to Pasadena Conservatory of Music Wednesday night. (Photo credit: Brenden-John Photography)
_______________________
One of the amazing aspects of living in Southern California is the incredibly deep well of musicians who live and perform in our area. Much of that emanates from the entertainment industry, where each day hundreds of musicians perform for scores of upcoming movies, television shows, commercials and other productions.
Those talented people also end up playing in the area’s orchestras, opera companies, musical theatre pits and chamber music ensembles. There are so many groups that it’s often hard to differentiate among them. So I love it when a group comes up a cute name and unique vision — it makes me sit up and take notice.
Which leads me to Pittance Chamber Music, which will perform a diverse program ranging from Beethoven to Germont Wolfgang on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in Barrett Hall at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
The group is comprised of members of the LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus, who are often invisible in the pit of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion but who are also — individual and collectively — among the cream of the area’s musicians.
Violinist Lisa Sutton, who is the Associate Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, founded the group in 2013. “The original idea behind Pittance was to raise up the extraordinary yet invisible musicians of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra from the pit to the stage to perform in small ensembles,” says Sutton, hence the name ‘Pittance,’ a play on words referring to these smaller offerings from the orchestra pit.” (See the group’s tongue-in-cheek “vision statement” HERE)
In addition to Sutton, performers Wednesday will include Leslie Reed and Jennifer Johnson, oboe; Sarah Beck, English Horn; Judith Farmer, bassoon; Heather Clark, flute; Greg Goodall, Marimba; Robert Cani, violin; Paul Floyd and Lisa Edwards, piano; Rebecca Tomlinson, soprano; Heather Quintana, mezzo-soprano; Omar Crook, tenor; and Steve Pence, bass-baritone.
Later this month the group will announce its inaugural three-concert season, which will begin Oct. 9 with two programs taking place at the Eva and Marc Stern Grand Hall of the Pavilion and one at The Colburn School’s Zipper Hall.
Sutton’s decision to focus the group on chamber music is in stark contrast to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, which for years has held a series of concerts with the entire Met Orchestra led by now-outgoing Music Director James Levine. It also means Wednesday’s ticket prices are a “pittance,” compared to the Met Orchestra concerts.
Tickets for Wednesday night’s performance are $35, $20 for seniors and $10 for students with valid ID. Ticket information: www.pittancechambermusic.org
_______________________
(c) Copyright 2016, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.
