La Jolla Symphony & Chorus Presents New Concert

From La Jolla Symphony and Chorus: The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) presents the third concert of its 63rd season on February 10-11. Music Director Steven Schick conducts Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, with soprano Tasha Koontz, and the world premiere of M.Alone: a theatre and percussion concerto for Fiona Digney written by French composer-circus artist Roland Auzet. Percussionist Fiona Digney, who commissioned the piece, solos. The concert program, titled “Cross Winds,” is the final event in the San Diego Symphony’s “It’s About Time” Festival, which is curated by Steven Schick.

The program begins with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (1899-1901). Considered his most approachable symphony, even people who claim not to like Mahler take this music to their hearts. At just an hour in length, it is also the shortest of Mahler’s ten symphonies. Much of the work’s charm comes from the text sung by the soprano in the last movement. Taken from Mahler’s 1892 composition Das himmlische Leben (“The Heavenly Life”), the song conveys a wide-eyed child’s vision of heaven. That sense of wonder, innocence and radiance touches the entire symphony. Soprano Tasha Koontz, a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and Northwestern University, solos. Koontz was first place winner in the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus 2016 Young Artist Competition, and third prize All-Around Winner in the Musical Merit Foundation of Greater San Diego Competition. She currently teaches voice and sings with the San Diego Opera Chorus.

The second half opens with a concerto like no other! Paris-based circus artist, composer, and percussionist Roland Auzet composed M.Alone specifically for Fiona Digney to showcase her skills and artistry as one of the new wave of experimental percussionists. This theatrical concerto requires improvisation and virtuosity as the percussionist/actor/dancer moves between traditional and “found” instruments.

“In working with Roland, my aim was to create something that was truly me, a piece that allowed me to be who I am as a performer on stage,” says Digney, who hails from Australia. Digney is a doctoral candidate at UC San Diego, completing her percussion studies with Schick. In addition to an active performance career, she is Associate Producer for the 2018 Ojai Music Festival and on the faculty of the Banff Summer Music programs.

Performances take place February 10-11, 2018 in Mandeville Auditorium at UC San Diego. Concert times are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Individual tickets are $35 general, $30 senior, and $15 student. Group discounts are available.

Parking is free. Steven Schick gives a pre-concert lecture one hour prior to concert times. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the LJS&C office at (858) 534-4637 or visit www.lajollasymphony.com.

The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, San Diego’s oldest and largest community orchestra and chorus, is a non-profit musical performing group dedicated to inspiring San Diego with the joy of music. Its 110-person orchestra and 130-person chorus perform groundbreaking orchestral and choral music along with traditional favorites from the classical repertoire. During the 63rd season, maestro Steven Schick shares the podium with Choral Director Patrick Walders in his debut season and guest conductor Sameer Patel, performing works by Copland, Gershwin, Poulenc, Mahler, Orff, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and more.

Photo courtesy of La Jolla Symphony and Chorus