PREVIEW: Muse-ique launches new season Monday, March 19

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Robert D. Thomas

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

When Rachael Worby — who for 10 years was music director of
the Pasadena Pops Orchestra — unleashed her new organization, Muse-ique, last
year, she promised a radically different programming concept. Last year’s
events (she doesn’t call them concerts) offered a tantalizing taste of her
eclectic vision. The 2012 season — four “Uncorked” events and three summer
programs — fleshes out that vision.

The first “Uncorked” event takes place Monday onstage at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium — literally. Both the performers and the audience
will be on the stage and a loading bay (everyone will enter from the loading
door to the right of the auditorium; the audience is limited to 300). The
evening begins at 7 p.m. with cocktails and the actual event kicks off at 7:20
p.m.

As is the case with each of the “Uncorked” programs, Monday
will be unscripted to a degree because they involve conversations between Worby
and her colleagues, in this case, six pianists (thus the title “Ebony Meets
Ivory”): Joanne Pearce Martin, principal keyboard player for the Los Angeles
Philharmonic; Markus Pawlik; Julia Greer; assistant professor of materials
science and mechanics at Caltech; Bryan Pezzone; Kirk Wilson; and Gavin Martin
(Joanne’s husband). They will perform music ranging from Moonlight Sonata to Coltrane, bebop Bach to a 12-hand arrangement
of Stars and Stripes Forever. Also on
the agenda is pop culture analyst/ writer/ performer Sandra Tsing Loh.

The only thing that’s a given about Worby’s programs is that
nothing is a given, but the concept is intriguing. Information: muse-ique.com

Among the innovative aspects of Muse-ique are the locales.
The April 9 event — a Western theme featuring a Worby regular,
singer-songwriter Michael Murphy and several others — will be at the Gene Autry
National Center in Griffith Park. The Oct. 8 program at the Rose Pavilion will
be a mash-up of Beatles’ music including Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (the album celebrates its 45^th
anniversary on June 1). The fourth program, Nov. 12, will be held amid the
paper rolls of Castle Press (the latter two locales are repeats from the 2011
locales — Rachael loves recycling something or someone that clicks with the
audience).

The summer series begins with a free concert June 23 on the
steps of the Pasadena Civic Center. The other two events will be outdoors at
Caltech’s outdoor Olive Garden, which proved to be a terrific venue last year.
Latin Jazz Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval will return to headline the evening on
July 14; details of the August 18 program have not been announced.

Information: muse-ique.com

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Five-Spot: What caught my eye on November 3, 2011

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Robert D. Thomas

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

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Each Thursday morning, I list five events (actually six this
week) that peak my interest, including (ideally) at least one with free
admission (or, at a minimum, inexpensive tickets). And this doesn’t count the
Metropolitan Opera’s HD telecast of Siegfried
on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at theaters in the area — be forewarned:
the running time is approximately six hours! (LINK).

Here’s today’s grouping:

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Tomorrow at 11 a.m.,
Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Los Angeles
Philharmonic. James Conlon, conductor; Yuja Wang, pianist

Much of the attention will, undoubtedly, be focused on what
the young Chinese pianist will wear (she of the “little orange dress” notoriety
— LINK) but the real story should be a wonderfully constructed
program — Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem, Prokofiev’s
Piano Concerto No. 3 and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7 — led by LA Opera Music
Director James Conlon with Wang as soloist. Tip: if you’ve never attended a
morning L.A. Phil concert, this would be a great time to try it out, but check
for ticket availability. Info: www.laphil.com

Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
at Alex Theatre (Glendale) and Sunday at 7 p.m. at Royce Hall (UCLA)

Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra plays Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti

The six Bach Brandenburg Concerti are about as far away from
Prokofiev’s 3^rd (above) as you can get, but Bach’s famous sextet is
indelibly linked with LACO — this will be the 51^st time that the
orchestra has played all or some of the pieces. Concertmaster Margaret Batjer
will lead the performance from her first-chair position. Info: www.laco.org

Sunday at 2 p.m. at
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Los Angeles Opera’s Romeo et Juliette

LAO brings back its
Ian Judge-created production of Gounod’s take on Shakespeare’s tale of
star-crossed lovers. Tenor Vittorio Grigolo and soprano Nino
Machaidze sing the title roles; Plcido Domingo conducts. A Los Angeles Times story on the young
soprano is HERE and and of Brian’s nifty “10 Questions” posts in Out West Arts on Grigolo is HERE. Info: www.losangelesopera.com

Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Lang Lang in recital

What caught my eye about this concert was the program, which
begins with Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat, continues with Schubert’s Sonata in
B-flat, and Chopin’s 12 Etudes, Op. 25 — three pieces of distinctly contrasting
styles that should be fascinating in the hands and mind of the young Chinese
pianist (this is obviously a weekend for young Chinese pianists). Info: www.laphil.com

Monday at 7 p.m. at
Castle Press (Pasadena)

Muse-ique stops the
presses

Rachael
Worby continues her penchant in Muse-ique’s first year of presenting programs
in unusual sites — in this case, the Doric String Quartet making its Los
Angeles debut amid stacks of paper and the printing presses of this north
Pasadena establishment (the musicians will be standing on the press while the
audience will sit on other presses and rolls of paper).

The
featured work on the evening will be a new string quartet by Southern
California native Peter Knell that the composer and Worby will discuss and the
Doric Quartet (which took first prize in the 2008 Osaka International Chamber
Music Competition) will play. The evening will also contain movements from
quartets by Haydn, Schubert and Bartok, and — given that Worby is in charge —
there’s sure to be a surprise or two. Info: www.muse-ique.com

And the weekend’s “free admission” program …

Friday at 8 p.m. at
Pasadena Nazarene Church

Pasadena Community
Orchestra with Suzanna Guzmn as soloist

Music Director Alan Reinecke conducts a program that
features one of the nation’s finest mezzo-sopranos, Suzanna Guzmn, as soloist
in Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer. The
program also features music by Bartok, Howard Hanson, Prokofiev and Ralph Vaughan
Williams. Info: www.pcomusic.org

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AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Chamber music rocks!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Robert D. Thomas

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

This article was first
published yesterday in the above papers.

After a month when orchestral concerts dominated the local
classical-music landscape, chamber music will be in the spotlight during the
next couple of weeks. Here are a few of the potentially intriguing programs:

Muse-ique presents
the Doric String Quartet

Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at
Castle Press (Pasadena)

Rachael Worby continues her penchant in Muse-ique’s first
year of presenting programs in unusual sites — in this case, the Doric String
Quartet, making its Los Angeles debut amid stacks of paper and the printing
presses of this north Pasadena establishment (the musicians will be standing on
the press while the audience will sit on other presses and rolls of paper).

The featured work on the evening will be a new string
quartet by Southern California native Peter Knell that the composer and Worby
will discuss and the Doric Quartet (which took first prize in the 2008 Osaka
International Chamber Music Competition) will play. The evening will also
contain movements from quartets by Haydn, Schubert and Bartok, and — given that
Worby is in charge — there’s sure to be a surprise or two. Information: 626/539-7085; www.muse-ique.com

Musica Angelica
salutes its founders

Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. at
Neighborhood Church, Pasadena

Lutenist and guitarist John Schneidermann will join Hideki
Yamaya, guitar and lute, violinists Janet Strauss and Susan Feldman, cellist
William Skeen, tenor Daniel Plaster and Denise Bries on viola da gamba in a
program that honors Michael Eagan and Mark Chatfield, who founded Musica
Angelica in 1993. Eagan, a lute player, died in 2004, while Chatfield, a
cellist, passed away in 1998. The duo formed the ensemble that has become one
of the world’s Baroque music groups. The concert repeats Nov. 13 in Santa
Monica. Information: 310/458 4504; www.musicaangelica.org

Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra performs Bach’s Brandenburgs

Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. at
the Alex Theatre; Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Royce Hall (UCLA)

LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer leads the ensemble in its
51^st performance of Bach’s famed concerti. Information: 213/622-7001; www.laco.org

The Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center

Nov. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
at Beckman Auditorium (Caltech)

The New York City ensemble plays music by Beethoven and
Brahms as part of the 108^th year of the Coleman Chamber Concerts. Information: (626) 793-4191;
coleman.caltech.edu

Meanwhile, Los
Angeles Opera resumes its season next Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion when it brings back its Ian Judge-created production of Gounod’s
Romo et Juliette. Tenor Vittorio
Grigolo and soprano Nino
Machaidze sing the title roles; Plcido Domingo conducts. Information: 213/972-8001;
www.losangelesopera.com

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PREVIEWS AND LINK: Rachael Worby and Arturo Sandoval one of two interesting programs on Tuesday

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Robert D. Thomas

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

When Rachael Worby announced her new project, Muse-ique, last summer she promised a
much different style of programming than the standard orchestra, Pops or
otherwise. Tuesday night at 7 p.m., that difference shows up in a major way as
Worby hosts Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Arturo Sandoval in a program
entitled “An Intimate Conversation.” Moreover, as Worby promised, the venue is
an attraction in itself.

Since Worby’s skill as a raconteur sets her apart from most
conductors working today, this pairing of the ebullient maestra and the iconic
Sandoval talking about Latin jazz seems tailor-made, at least on paper (or, in
this case, computer screen). The event is at the Pasadena Rose Palace (the Los
Angeles Rock Ballroom) and the evening includes a pre-event reception and a
behind-the-scenes look at the construction of floats being created by Phoenix
Decorating for the upcoming Tournament of Roses Parade.

Sandoval, who turns 62 next month,
was born in and grew up in Cuba. Nonetheless, his early influences were jazz
legends Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown but he studied
classical trumpet at Cuba’s National School of the Arts and has performed with
the BBC Symphony and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Philharmonic. He was
granted political asylum in the United States in 1990 and became a naturalized
U.S. citizen in 1999.

However, it is for Latin jazz that
Sandoval is best known. Among other things, he has won four Grammy Awards, six
Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award — the latter for his composing work on HBO
movie based on his life, For Love or
Country, starring Andy Garcia. Information:
www.muse-ique.com

If the $45 ticket price is too rich for your blood or you
just want something different, check out Alex Benestelli’s Master of Music
choral recital on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. It’s free and at Pasadena Presbyterian
Church (double disclaimer: Alex is a friend and colleague and PPC is my church
home). Benestelli, who is also an organist, will conduct a choral ensemble of
colleagues from the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music in music by J.S.
Bach, Edgar Bainton, Bobby McFerrin, Ralph Vaughan Williams and others. Timothy
Howard will accompany on the church’s splendid Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ.

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AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Of 9/11 … and other things musical

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Robert D. Thomas

By Robert D. Thomas

Music Critic

Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News

A shorter version of
this column was published today in the above papers.

Normally this weekend is one of the two “transition zones”
in the classical-music year — in this case, from summer to fall-winter-spring.
However, this year also includes the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks and there are at least a couple of musical programs commemorating that
event that are worth noting.

Artistic Director Jeffrey Bernstein will lead his Pasadena
Master Chorale next Sunday at 4 p.m. in La Crescenta Presbyterian Church with a
program highlighted by Faur’s Requiem. The afternoon will also contain three a
cappella works that accentuate the “remembrance” theme — a setting of Psalm
137, Virgil Thompson’s My Shepherd Will
Supply My Need, and Ross Lee Finney’s Words
To Be Spoken — along with Bernstein’s arrangement of America the Beautiful. Organist Edward Murray will accompany;
soloist will be soprano Krystle Casey and baritone Cedric Berry. Information:
626-208-0009; www.pasadenamasterchorale.org

The PMC will be doing double duty that day, shifting over
to the Pasadena Convention Center Plaza at 7 p.m. where it will join forces
with Muse-ique for a free hour-long concert of music ranging from Bach and
Tchaikovsky to Paul Simon and George Gershwin. Rachael Worby, Muse-ique’s
artistic director, will conduct. Information: 626/795-9311; www.muse-ique.com

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s concert at
Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 13 has Bramwell Tovey leading the Phil, Los Angeles
Master Chorale and soloists in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Mozart’s Requiem. This is one of four
programs during the next fortnight that will be led by Tovey, who spent the past
three seasons as the Phil’s Principal Guest Conductor at the Bowl. Info: 323/850-2000;
www.hollywoodbowl.com

Los Angeles Opera opens its 2011-2012 season on Sept. 17
at 7:30 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the first of six
performances of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene
Onegin. The following day at 2 p.m. comes Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, also the first of six performances. LAO Music
Director James Conlon will conduct both productions. Both opening performances
will be broadcast live on KUSC (91.5-FM) and kusc.org. Information: (213)
972-8001; www.laopera.com

Speaking of L.A. Opera, both it and the Long Beach
Symphony (LINK) have unveiled new Web sites. The LBSO opens its 2011-2012
season on Oct. 1 when Music Director Enrique Arturo Diemecke (beginning his
11th season at the orchestra’s helm) will lead a program of Wagner’s Prelude and Liebstod from Tristan und
Isolde, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, and Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder, with mezzo-soprano Barbara Dever as soloist. Info: www.lbso.org

The Rio Hondo Symphony will open its 78th season of free
concerts on Sept. 25 when Music Director Kimo Furumoto leads Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 3 (Eroica), Rossini’s William Tell overture and Liszt’s Piano
Concerto No. 1, with Alison Edwards as soloist. The other concerts are Oct. 30,
Feb. 5 and May 6. All concerts are at 3 p.m. in Whittier High School’s Vic
Lopez Auditorium. Information: 562/698-8626; www.riohondosymphony.org

E. Jason Armstrong has been named Artistic Director and
Conductor of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. Armstrong most recently
completed his doctoral class work at the University of Southern California
Thornton School of Music, where he served as the conductor for the USC Thornton
Apollo Men’s Chorus and as assistant conductor for the USC Thornton Concert
Choir. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Armstrong spent 15 years as
director of choral activities at Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida.

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Class Act

The Southern California classical music scene with Bob Thomas

Tag Archives: Muse-ique

PREVIEW: Muse-ique launches new season Monday, March 19

Five-Spot: What caught my eye on November 3, 2011

AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Chamber music rocks!

PREVIEWS AND LINK: Rachael Worby and Arturo Sandoval one of two interesting programs on Tuesday

AROUND TOWN/MUSIC: Of 9/11 … and other things musical