Oakland East Bay Symphony 2013-2014 Season Brochure

2013-2014 Season

“The most fun-loving symphony in the country” — Oakland Tribune

Reasons to Subscribe: Great Savings, Seats & Service We want all of our patrons to have a wonderful musical experience – but subscribers get the best deals and great perks! For as little as $51, you can create your own 3-concert series and enjoy the following benefits: Big Savings – Up to 28% over cost of single tickets.

Priority Seating -- Opportunity to renew and upgrade before tickets go on sale to the public.

Free replacement of lost or misplaced tickets.

Exchange privileges - Only subscribers can exchange tickets for a future concert at no charge.

Advance program notes via e-mail.

Ticket pre-sale opportunities and invitations to special events.

Free Talks Before Concerts: Learn More, Enjoy More Add to your enjoyment of the concert by attending an entertaining, informative talk before each subscription concert. John Kendall Bailey -- well-known musician and speaker, and Principal Conductor of Oakland Youth Orchestra -- will offer his insights into the music, sometimes joined by a composer or artist involved in the evening’s program.

“I have been awed by the quality of the performances, and the humanity, talent and humor of the conductor. The Oakland East Bay Symphony has it all - memorable music, cultural richness, a stunning location – and without the pretension of some other Bay Area performing arts organizations. Fabulous!”

— Melanie H., Concertgoer

Oakland East Bay Symphony performs at the magnificent art deco Paramount Theatre, located in Oakland’s exciting Uptown district, and just steps away from the 19th Street Oakland BART station.

The 2013-2014 season is supported by grants from the California Arts Council, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.

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Friday, November 8, 8pm – Michael Morgan, conductor

Opening Night: 25th Anniversary Season giuSePPe verDi – Overture to La Forza del Destino (1862) MaSon bateS – Mothership (2010) giuSePPe verDi – “Ritorna vincitor!” from Aida (1871) with Othalie Graham, soprano riCHarD Wagner – Immolation Scene, Gotterdammerung (1876) with Othalie Graham, soprano Our 25th Season opening celebrates the bicentennials of the births of two great composers – Verdi and Wagner – and two bright lights on the international music scene: innovative and energetic composer Mason Bates and radiant soprano Othalie Graham. The concert opens with the brooding and lyrical overture to Verdi’s opera about star-crossed lovers.

American composer and YouTube Symphony phenom Mason Bates’ exhilarating blend of large-scale symphonic writing, electronic elements and improvisation Othalie Graham are driven by a heart-pounding beat in Mothership.

Glamorous and powerful, Canadian soprano Othalie Graham makes her OEBS debut in two of opera’s most heroic moments. “Ritorna vincitor!” from Aida captures the title heroine’s anguish at being torn between loyalty to her father, lover and homeland. The immolation scene from the final opera of Wagner’s Ring Cycle is a musical and dramatic tour-de-force as Brunhilde rides into the flames of Siegfried’s funeral pyre at the apocalyptic end of the opera.

Mason Bates (Suitable for children 10 and over.)

Concert Sponsor

Sunday, December 15, 4pm – Michael Morgan, conductor Note: This concert is not part of the regular subscription series; tickets must be ordered separately. .

Let Us Break Bread Together: A Holiday Celebration Featuring: Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Symphony Chorus, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Mt. Eden High School Choir, Crystal Children’s Choir, klezmer band Kugelplex, Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir The Bay Area’s most traditional unconventional holiday concert celebrates its 21st year with the world premieres of four new gospel works commissioned by OEBS and The James Irvine Foundation, soul-stirring guest artists and some of the most exciting young vocal talent in the Bay Area. Frequently a sell-out, Let Us Break Bread Together is considered by many concertgoers to be the musical highlight of the holiday season and a not-to-be-missed performance that features top choirs, classical favorites and audience sing-alongs that get the spirit moving.

(Suitable for children 4 and over.)

Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir Sponsored in part by

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Friday, January 24, 8pm – Michael Morgan, conductor

Enigma Variations Conrad Susa – The Blue Hour (2004) Dmitry Kabalevsky – Cello Concerto No. 2 (1964) with David Requiro, cello Edward Elgar –Enigma Variations (1898-1899) An evening of sublimely evocative music opens with Bay Area composer Conrad Susa’s lush meditation on the changing colors and moods of the sea. Bay Area native cellist David Requiro is known for a gorgeous tone that “seems to leap from the instrument,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Look for him to be a musical leader of the future,” predicted the Oakland Tribune. The future has arrived, and Requiro will essay the technically challenging second Kabalevsky Cello Concerto that sweeps from lightning-fast bravado to achingly lush melodic passages. Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations is a musical cryptogram worthy of the da Vinci Code in which the composer cleverly embedded an “unplayed” theme in musical portraits of his close friends and relations. The theme was so ingeniously concealed that it remained unsolved in the composer’s lifetime, yet the Variations remain an evocative and titillating audience favorite to this day.

(Suitable for children 10 and over.)

David Requiro

Friday,v February 21, 8pm – Michael Morgan, conductor

Dvorák Symphony No. 7 Concerto with winner of 2013 Young Artist Competition Work performed with MUSE students tba Mary Fineman – Songs (World Premiere; New Visions/NewVistas Commissioning Project, supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation) with singer tba v

Antonin Dvorák – Symphony No. 7 (1877) “Even though I write music that tells personal and specific stories, I try to paint on a canvas that is large enough and open enough for people to put their own stories,” says singer-songwriter, composer-pianist Mary Fineman, whose Songs will receive their world premiere on this concert that is infused with youthful vigor and wonder. Fineman’s songs have been favorably compared to composers as diverse as Schubert and Carole King. The winner of Mary Fineman OEBS’ Young Artist Competition and members v of its acclaimed MUSE Program will join the orchestra for what promise to be memorable performances that pair seasoned artists with the performers of the future. Dvorák’s tumultuous Seventh Symphony was composed at a time when the Czech people were struggling against oppression and the composer himself was struggling for wider recognition of his music. He wrote “God grant that this Czech music will move the world!” -- and it has.

(Suitable for children 10 and over.)

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Friday, March 28, 8pm – Michael Morgan, conductor

Notes from India JuHi banSal – World Premiere (New Visions/New Vistas Commissioning Project, supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation) ravi SHankar – Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra with sitar player tba PHiliP glaSS & ravi SHankar – Excerpts from Passages (1990) Other artists and works tba Maestro Morgan and the orchestra continue their visionary and adventurous exploration of symphonic treasures from other cultures and parts of the world that may be less well-known to American audiences. This program takes us on a journey to India and features the world premiere of a work by Indian composer Juhi Bansal, whose style has been described as “luscious” and “passionate.” Ms. Bansal’s works draw on compellingly disparate influences, including her love of classical music and her background growing up in Hong Kong. We’ll mark the passing of legendary composer/ performer/spiritual leader and activist Ravi Shankar with performances of two of his works. We’ll present one of his Sitar Concertos, which artfully brings together traditional Indian compositional form and technique with Western symphonic traditions, as well as excerpts from Passages, his collaboration with avant-garde contemporary American composer Philip Glass that reached #3 on Billboard’s World Music Albums chart.

(Suitable for children 10 and over.)

Juhi Bansal

Ravi Shankar

Sponsored in part by

Friday, May 16, 8pm – Michael Morgan, conductor

25th Anniversary Finale: Berlioz Requiem HeCtor berlioZ – Requiem (1837) with Thomas Glenn, tenor; Oakland Symphony Chorus (Lynne Morrow, Music Director); and Oakland Youth Orchestra (Michael Morgan, Artistic Director; John Kendall Bailey, Principal Conductor) Every inch of the historic Paramount Theatre stage will brim with music to mark the 25th anniversary of the Oakland East Bay Symphony Thomas Glenn in the grandest of styles as Maestro Morgan musters the full complement of orchestra, Oakland Youth Orchestra (50th anniversary) and Oakland Symphony Chorus (55th anniversary) for Berlioz’s monumental Requiem. Berlioz’s masterwork is a powerful, deeply moving and timelessly relevant tribute to victims of war. It features an unusually large orchestra, chorus, tenor soloLynne Morrow ist and four brass ensembles, making it one of the most impressive works of the Romantic era. OEBS audiences have enjoyed tenor Thomas Glenn’s earlier appearances, which have been acclaimed as being “alive with energy and expression” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Glenn’s performance as Robert Wilson in John Adams’ opera Doctor Atomic won a 2012 Grammy Award.

John Kendall Bailey

(Suitable for children 10 and over.)

Concert Sponsor

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Visit paramounttheatre.com for detailed seating charts.

Five Ways to Order Subscriptions: On Sale Now Single Tickets: On Sale October 1, 2013

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By Mail

By Fax

Group Discounts

Oakland East Bay Symphony 2201 Broadway, Ste 300 Oakland, CA 94612

510-444-0863 (credit card only)

Groups of 10 or more get 20% off the regular ticket price. Call 510-836-1981 or email grouptix@oebs.org for details and help with your group order.

In Person Paramount Box Office 21st Street at Broadway, Oakland

Online Via secure server oebs.org

Summer hours (effective June 10): Wed, 11am-5:30pm Thurs-Sat, 11am-3pm Closed Sun, Mon, Tues & Holidays

By Phone 510-444-0801 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

Contact the Paramount Theatre for fall box office hours.

Ticket Mail Dates The Box Office will begin mailing subscriptions mid-September.

Single tickets will be mailed beginning October 8. $12 service charge on all subscription orders. $15 service charge on all group orders.

Note: Programs and dates subject to change.

Subscription Series Ticket Prices Section

Subscrip. Price Subscrip. Price Subscrip. Price Single Ticket Savings

(5 concerts) (4 concerts) (3 concerts) Price †

By Subscribing

(to 5 concerts)*

UPSTAIRS Balcony Front (Rows A-F) Ltd Avail Balcony Middle, center (Rows G-O) Balcony Middle, sides (Rows G-O) Balcony Rear (Rows P-T) Balcony Rear (Rows U-Z)

$310 $200 $190 $115 $ 75

$252 $164 $156 $ 96 $ 64

$192 $126 $120 $ 75 $ 51

$70 $50 $48 $32 $20

11% 20% 21% 28% 25%

DOWNSTAIRS Orch Front (Rows A-C) Ltd Avail Orch Front, ctr (Rows D-P) Ltd Avail Orchestra Front, sides (Rows D-P) Ltd Avail Orchestra Rear (Rows AA-MM) Orchestra Rear (Rows NN-VV)

$100 $295 $200 $140 $105

$ 84 $240 $164 $116 $ 88

$ 66 $183 $126 $ 90 $ 69

$25 $70 $50 $35 $25

20% 16% 20% 20% 16%

* Note: All subscribers realize significant savings over the cost of single tickets, but subscribers to the full 5-concert series get the biggest discounts. Subscribe to more concerts & save more! † Single tickets to the Berlioz Requiem are $5 more per ticket than prices listed here for other concerts

“Break Bread” Ticket Prices UPSTAIRS Balcony Front (Rows A-F) Balcony Middle (Rows G-O) Balcony Rear (Rows P-Z)

$50 $40 $25

DOWNSTAIRS Orchestra Front (Rows A-C) Orchestra Front (Rows D-P) Orchestra Rear (Rows AA-VV) Youth (under 18), all sections

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$40 $50 $40 $15

Order a Subscription 1. How many subscriptions do you want?

❑1

❑2

2. How many concerts do you want in your subscription?

❑3

❑4

❑3

❑4

❑ Other ____________ ❑5

3. Which concerts do you want to see? (Subscriptions are 3, 4 or 5 concerts.) ❑ Friday, November 8, 8pm

❑ Friday, January 24, 8pm

❑ Friday, March 28, 8pm

❑ Friday, May 16, 8pm

❑ Friday, February 21, 8pm

4. What section do you want to sit in? _______________________________________________________ (Please use section names from the chart on the facing page.)

BE SURE to provide a 2nd choice if you choose a section with limited availability _____________________ (You will receive a refund if you are given less expensive seats than you paid for.)

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(Refer to prices on the facing page.)

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Order Tickets to Specific Concerts Note: Single tickets go on sale October 1. Single ticket orders mailed in advance will be filled prior to October 1.

Concert Date

Section

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Total

❑ Fri, Nov 8, 8pm ____________________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________ ❑ Fri, Jan 24, 8pm ___________________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________ ❑ Fri, Feb 21, 8pm ___________________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________ ❑ Fri, Mar 28, 8pm ___________________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________ ❑ Fri, May 16, 8pm ___________________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________

Break Bread

(Note special ticket prices on the facing page.)

❑ Sun, Dec 15, 4pm: Adult ____________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________ 15.00 ❑ Sun, Dec 15, 4pm: Youth ____________________________________ $ ___________________x____________ = $ _________________

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Single Ticket Subtotal = $ _________________ Subscription Subtotal = $ _________________ Contribution = $ _________________ 12.00 Handling Charge $ _________________

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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Return form to: Oakland East Bay Symphony, 2201 Broadway, Ste 300, Oakland, CA 94612 Fax: 510-444-0863 Order online: oebs.org

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