Oboe soloist Lara Wickes, Maestro Nir Kabaretti and the Santa Barbara Symphony to perform May 16 & 17
Composer Dan Redfeld will premiere “Arioso for Oboe, Percussion & Strings” for Santa Barbara Symphony’s final concert of the season, “Santa Barbara Symphony Presents: Porgy and Bess” on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 17 at 3 p.m. The piece will be conducted by Maestro Nir Kabaretti featuring oboist Lara Wickes.
Like so many artistic endeavors throughout history, the “Arioso” was initially inspired by a woman. In late spring of 2001, Redfeld became romantically involved with a vocalist and sketched out the main thematic ideas for the work. He took two contrasting, long-lined melodies and built the piece around an arch-like structure. The piece was written over a three-week period in July and recorded in November. During the recording, Redfeld spoke extensively to the studio orchestra about his experience in New York during 9/11 and how this piece became the soundtrack for his memories there. Over the next few years, Redfeld and several oboists submitted the piece to various conductors and orchestras. It was when Maestro Kabaretti received the “Arioso” that Redfeld found his collaboration.
“I’ve been following Dan’s music for quite some time now, and when I heard the ‘Arioso,’ I immediately looked for a performance possibility,” said Maestro Kabaretti. “I liked the interesting sonorities between the strings, percussion, harp, solo oboe and the melodic and harmonic language used in the piece. Also, knowing that we have a wonderful principle oboe in the Santa Barbara Symphony, I thought this would be a perfect fit with the two other pieces in this all American program.”
In addition to Redfeld’s work, Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” and George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess: Concert Version” will be presented with soprano Laquita Mitchell, bass-baritone Michael Sumuel and the Santa Barbara Choral Society. “Santa Barbara Symphony Presents: Porgy and Bess” will be presented at The Granada Theatre located at 1214 State Street in Santa Barbara, California. Tickets range from $28 to $133, plus taxes and fees. Discounted student tickets are available for $10 with valid student ID. A 30-minute pre-concert talk, “Behind the Music,” will begin one hour before each performance.
For information, call Santa Barbara Symphony Office at (805) 898-9386 or visit online at www.thesymphony.org.
