Let's celebrate the Autumnal Equinox on September 21/22! It's a time of seasonal changes, and Santa Cruz Symphony will help you move into Fall's vibrance with Philharmonia Fantastique. This annual moment of transition provides the ideal setting for the launch of our dynamic 67th concert season. Join Santa Cruz Symphony and Music Director Daniel Stewart as we experience masterfully articulated, uniquely creative works by Johannes Brahms, Mason Bates, and Martin Gaskell.
If you're a subscriber, your tickets were mailed on September 5. If you're not a subscriber, there's still time! Learn more about season subscriptions here.
Johannes Brahms took the composition of his first symphony very seriously, so much that it took him several decades to complete it. When the work premiered in 1876, it was to great acclaim. One notable critic of the time declared that “even the layman will immediately recognize it as one of the most distinctive and magnificent works of the symphonic literature.”
While influenced by Beethoven, Brahms’ Symphony no. 1 in C minor is still uniquely his own, balancing stormy passion with sweet lyricism.
Grammy award-winning composer Mason Bates takes us on a journey through the instruments of the orchestra as we follow a magical Sprite in Philharmonia Fantastique. By the end of the concerto, instrument families of the orchestra demonstrate “unity from diversity” in a spectacular finale. This exciting, action-packed score (the concerto is often presented as part of an animated film) offers a colorful exploration of the inner workings of an orchestra.
The Washington Post described it as a "sumptuous sonic palette" with "relentlessly clever turns of phrase," and the soundtrack for the film version won a Grammy award in 2023.
Martin Gaskell's Ceremonial Music was a 2023 Finalist in Composition for the American Prize, and has been performed over 100 times on three continents. Originally written for trumpets, trombones, and organ, Gaskell arranged his work for full orchestra at the request of Maestro Daniel Stewart.
“I imagine a long, slow procession for a ceremony in a cathedral,” says Gaskell, “perhaps for a royal wedding or a coronation. One hears heraldic trumpet fanfares and church bells pealing."
Classical Series Concert 1:
Philharmonia Fantastique
Johannes Brahms: Symphony no. 1
Mason Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique
Martin Gaskell: Ceremonial Music
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2024 at 7:30 PM at Civic Auditorium
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 at 2:00 PM at Henry J. Mello Center