Symphony Blog
Dear Santa Cruz Symphony Patron,
If you attended the Beethoven and the Hill We Climb concerts in person and/or watched the concert video released after the concerts, you are invited to take our post-concert survey. You'll be given the chance to enter a drawing to win two tickets to our next concert, Kaleidoscopes, on April 30 and May 1, 2022!
The entire family can enjoy the Santa Cruz Symphony for about the cost of going to the movies!
Join Maestro Daniel Stewart, Master of Ceremonies Omari Tau, the Santa Cruz Symphony, and the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony as they show you how the orchestra swings. We are presenting a Link Up concert in collaboration with the Weill Institute and Carnegie Hall.
This is the perfect way to introduce the whole family to a wonderful performance by the acclaimed Santa Cruz Symphony as it presents great music by Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Courtney Bryan, and Florence Price.
Though swing is characteristic of jazz, an orchestra can also swing! Omari Tau, well-known Bay area performer, will introduce you and your children to the sparkle of swing music, performed live by a symphony orchestra. Actually, it will be two symphonies—the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony. You may even know some of the young musicians!
Ticket prices are a low $19.50 for adults. Tickets for children ages 3-17 are only $13.50. Lap babies ages 2 and under are free.
Seating is General Admission. This concert is appropriate for children of all ages.
It’s even better than the movies because it’s live!
Symphony Music Lovers and Lifelong Learners!
Are you intrigued with the unusual program titled Beethoven and The Hill We Climb? We are too! Many of you reported that Don Adkins’ January classes helped deepen your understanding and experience of the concerts. His upcoming online class will get us ready for this emotion-packed program February 12 and 13.
As these February concerts are coming right up, we only have time for ONE CLASS to be offered MONDAY February 7, 2022 at 7 pm. In his Zoom class, Don will delve into Beethoven’s pieces, as Maestro Stewart’s programming honors the composer’s (belated) 250th birthday. Don’s use of carefully curated video clips gives us familiarity with musical attributes and helps us focus on what we can listen for.
In Maestro Stewart’s words, “This Beethoven-centric program is going to also address our current cultural struggles through examples of [Beethoven’s] struggle, and transcendence, as he went deaf and dealt with a whole bunch of challenges in his life. So all of that, interwoven with contemporary works directly inspired by him.”
Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture: Learn about the story Beethoven relates in this dramatic self-contained piece
String Quartet No 15 Op 132: Learn to identify the main themes we will hear
Moonlight Sonata: isn’t what Beethoven titled it!
Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) Movement 5: What is the form of the Shepherd’s Song — Happy, Thankful Feelings after the Storm?
Unsuk Chin’s Subito con forza: Learn how the leading Korean composer of her generation nods to Beethoven’s influence in her piece
Destiny Muhammad, arr Matt Wong, We Are The Ones: A contemporary artist addresses current struggles
Butterfly Jig (traditional Irish tune): The transformation of immigrants on American soil
If you have attended the prior classes, you can expect to gain a better appreciation of what you will hear at the concert. If you have not attended classes before, let us know if you would like to watch videos of the prior classes, but prior attendance is not in any way necessary to enjoy this class. Allow up to 90 minutes for this presentation which will go into much greater depth than time allows at Don’s preview presentations before the concerts.
Again, there will be only one class presented on Monday February 7 at 7 pm. A recording will be available the following day if you are unable to attend the live class. As there is only one class, the cost is $20.
Please join your Symphony friends for this excellent class! We look forward to seeing you!
Do you know about the Santa Cruz Symphony League? This organization is a community of music-loving friends dedicated to supporting the Santa Cruz Symphony through fundraising, educational, and fun social events. If you've attended a concert, you may have seen the League's table in the lobby. The Santa Cruz Symphony League is the largest donor of funds to the Santa Cruz Symphony!
The Symphony League sponsors Concert Preview events, which are held the Friday prior to each Santa Cruz Symphony concert weekend. You're always welcome to sign up to attend these events. In addition to enjoying a wonderful lunch or reception at either a local restaurant or home of a League member, you will be able meet Maestro Daniel Stewart and listen to him discuss the upcoming concert.
The Symphony League held their most recent Concert Preview Luncheon on February 11, 2022, offering us a presentation by Daniel Stewart and Destiny Muhammad, our guest soloist and composer for the Beethoven and the Hill We Climb concerts. We're pleased to share the video of that presentation with you now.
If you would like to learn more about the Santa Cruz Symphony League and their Preview Luncheons, socials, and other events, please visit www.santacruzsymphonyleague.org.
Watch for an announcement of our encore showing of the Beethoven and the Hill We Climb concert video. Enjoy this presentation!
Dear Santa Cruz Symphony Patron,
Your Symphony is proud to present “Beethoven & The Hill We Climb”. It is a concert of works by Beethoven that represent a panorama of the composer’s output and sensibilities, along with works that were inspired by his genius. The program is set for this Saturday, February 12, at 7:30pm at the Civic Auditorium and Sunday, February 13, at 2:00pm at the Mello Center for the Performing Arts.
Beethoven’s Overture to Coriolan portrays the intensity and tragedy of the ill-fated ancient Roman general. It contrasts starkly against the deeply intimate and heartfelt third movement of his String Quartet No. 15, known as Holy Song of Thanks. Your Symphony will present this movement in an arrangement by Maestro Daniel Stewart for full string orchestra.
For the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, South Korean composer Unsuk Chin took a cue from Coriolan and wrote the opening of her subito con forza to mimic the opening of Beethoven’s overture, albeit with contemporary percussion and composition techniques.
A perennial favorite, the Moonlight Sonata inspired Polish composer Jakub Kowalewski to set the work for string orchestra. This will provide the background for vocalist Destiny Muhammad to recite Amanda Gorman’s uplifting, uniting poem “The Hill We Climb”. Ms. Muhammad, also a harpist, brings a trio of jazz colleagues to perform her arrangement of the traditional tune, Butterfly Jig, and her new work, We Are the Ones, arranged by Matt Wong.
Finally, to conclude a concert of inspiration and gratitude, the orchestra will perform the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, subtitled as Shepherd’s song: happy and thankful feelings after the storm.
Live Streaming Returns, by Popular Demand
Once again, we are offering the option of streaming the upcoming concert online, including bonus features. This means you can attend in person, wearing a mask and showing your Covid vaccine ID or negative Covid test. You can view the program at home on your computer or computer-enabled TV. Or you can do both!
· If you prefer to attend in person and don’t already have tickets, great seats are still available. Just go to santacruztickets.com to purchase tickets for the live performance. AND you will automatically receive a link to view the video stream when it is broadcast.
· If you prefer to attend in person and already have tickets, attend at the usual time and place. Nothing changes. AND you will automatically receive a link to view the video stream when it is broadcast.
· If you prefer to watch from home and already have tickets, Your Symphony will automatically email a link that allows you to stream the program for a few days. We will have strategically placed cameras to capture the entire performance.
· If you prefer to watch from home and do not have tickets, you may purchase the video stream by going to santacruztickets.com and purchasing any available ticket. Make sure to provide an email address when ordering your ticket.
The streaming program will be available for viewing any time from Saturday-Monday, February 26-28, 2022. A few days before those dates, we will email the link.
Thank you for your continued support and faithfulness! Please know that Your Symphony sincerely appreciates all you do for us and for the artistic community.
Important Note: If you are attending in person, please check our website, santacruzsymphony.org, for the latest health and safety requirements. Of course, regular safety protocols will remain in place, as required by the cities and county.
