Upcoming events.
For the Birds
Season Finale
The Birds Ottorino Respighi
The Lark Ascending Ralph Vaughan Williams
Song of the Birds Pablo Casals
Symphony No. 83, “The Hen” Franz Joseph Haydn
Alejandra Moreno-Gonzalez, violin soloist
Horn Hijinks
Horns and Strings
Mozart Quintet for Horn and Strings
Beethoven Sextet for 2 Horns and Strings
Schubert String Quartet "Death and the Maiden"
Jason Beaumont and Greg Magie, horns
Tony Navarro and Grace Seng, violins
Emily Gilman, viola
Hilary Clark, cello
Fierce Fingerings
Classical Guitar and Strings
Special guest Jack Cimo, classical guitarist, joins Symphony of the Vines' own Tony Navarro, violin, and Hilary Clark, cello.
*Please note: this performance will take place in the Banquet Room adjacent to Cass Café
Timeless Classics
Symphony of the Vines at Mission San Miguel
Dumbarton Oaks Concerto Igor Stravinsky
Cello Concerto No. 1 Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 5 Franz Schubert
Hilary Clark, cello soloist
Fantaisie Française
Piano Trio
Symphony of the Vines presents a delightful assortment of French chamber music.
Francis Poulenc Sonata for Violin and Piano
César Franck Sonata in A minor (version for Cello and Piano)
Ernest Chausson Piano Trio
Tony Navarro, violin
Hilary Clark, cello
Jacopo Giacopuzzi, piano
Arctic Chill
Symphony of the Vines at Mission San Miguel
Symphony of the Vines presents Scandinavian masterworks. Featuring Marley Eder, flute soloist.
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Edvard Grieg
Flute Concerto Carl Nielsen
Symphony No. 5 Jean Sibelius
Scintillating Strings
Momentous Works for String Quintet and Sextet
Symphony of the Vines season opener featuring Franz Schubert's monumental String Quintet in C major, considered one of the finest chamber music works of all time. Program also includes the beautiful B-flat major string sextet by Johannes Brahms.
Tony Navarro and Daniel Muñoz, violins
Emily Gilman and Bridget Boland, violas
Katrina Agate and Hilary Clark, cellos
Baroque Jubilation
Symphony of the Vines at Mission San Miguel
Maestro Magie leads the orchestra. Works by Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, and others.
Celebrate the Arts
Fabulous Fundraising Event
Enjoy an afternoon of music, visual arts, fine wine and gourmet hors d’oeuvres at the exquisite west Paso Robles hilltop home of Ken and Marilyn Riding, local champions of the arts.
Participate in an exciting silent auction of items including aerial tours of the central coast, wine selections, tasting opportunities and pairings, and graphic art.
Special guest performance by outstanding and award winning young local pianist, Andy Shen. Additional music performed by Symphony of the Vines' principal cellist, Hilary Clark, and pianist Lynne Garrett.
Harmonious Harp
Harp Recital
Catherine Litaker, harp
Symphony of the Vines’ favorite harpist returns with a wonderfully varied program of delightful and virtuosic harp music.
Classical Artistry
Symphony of the Vines at Mission San Miguel
Maestro Magie leads the orchestra. Featuring violinist Mischa Lefkowitz as soloist.
Sinfonia Concertante for Winds and Orchestra
Mozart
Violin Concerto
Beethoven
Brilliant Brass
Symphony of the Vines Brass Quintet
Celebrate the holiday season with a lively assortment of classical and popular favorites.
Holiday Brass at Mission San Miguel
Symphony of the Vines Brass Quintet
Celebrate the holiday season with a lively assortment of classical and popular favorites. Proceeds benefit restoration of historic Mission San Miguel.
Passionate Piano
Pianist Torsten Juul-Borre returns for his celebrated annual recital
Program includes preludes by Rachmaninov and Chopin’s Fantasy in F minor.
Elegant Ensembles
Quartet and Quintet
Alejandra Moreno-Gonzales, violin
Tony Navarro, violin
Kevin Massin, viola
Hilary Clark, cello
Dmitriy Cogan, piano
Featuring outstanding pianist Andy Shen as our Student Spotlight
Piano Quartet No. 3
Johannes Brahms
Piano Quintet in A major
Antonín Dvorák
Suite Treats
Symphony of the Vines at Mission San Miguel
Maestro Magie leads the orchestra in two charming and magical suites. Also featuring cellist Hilary Clark as soloist.
Mother Goose Suite
Maurice Ravel
Pulcinella Suite
Igor Stravinsky
Cello Concerto no. 1 Dmitriy Shostakovich
Fanciful Flute
Flute, Piano, and Cello
Symphony of the Vines starts off its 13th season with a chamber music concert featuring outstanding flutist Marley Eder. Joined by Susan Davies, piano, and Hilary Clark, cello, the program will feature a variety of works, including:
Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano
Bohuslav Martinu
Sonata for Flute and Piano
Robert Muczynski
Trois Aquarelles
Philippe Gaubert
Jack Cimo at Trilogy
Jack Cimo, guitarist
Enjoy special guest artist Jack Cimo
Local guitar virtuoso Jack Cimo collaborates with Symphony of the Vines string players for a variety of works, including the famous quintet for guitar and strings by Luigi Boccherini.
Joyful Beethoven
Ode to Joy
Beethoven at Mission San Miguel
Beethoven’s crowning achievement, and one of the most remarkable and powerful works in all the literature, the “Choral” Symphony is life-affirming and calls for unity and freedom. Performed with full chorus and four vocal soloists. An event not to be missed.
Fidelio excerpts
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
Ludwig van Beethoven
Gallant Guitar
Jack Cimo, guitarist
Enjoy special guest artist Jack Cimo
Local guitar virtuoso Jack Cimo collaborates with Symphony of the Vines string players for a variety of works, including the famous quintet for guitar and strings by Luigi Boccherini.
Enjoy award-winning Cass wines while luxuriating in the delightful timbres of classical music.
Mighty Beethoven
Beethoven’s First and Fifth Symphonies
Beethoven at Mission San Miguel
We continue our celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary with perhaps his most iconic and popular work, the Symphony No. 5. From the famous opening four note motive he creates an amazing edifice of towering genius and power.
Symphony No. 1 Ludwig van Beethoven
Marimba Concerto (world premiere) Mutsuhito Ogino
John Astaire, soloist
Symphony No. 5 Ludwig van Beethoven
Join us at lovely and historic Mission San Miguel for this powerful Symphony of the Vines performance.
Poignant Piano
Torsten Juul-Borre, piano
Piano Recital at Cass Winery
Torsten Juul-Borre will be appearing for his beloved annual piano concert the Sunday before Thanksgiving at Cass Winery in Paso Robles.
On the program will be intriguing music by two female composers from the Romantic era, Amy Beach and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. (Enough of those men already.) Later in the program, however, we will be hearing select pieces from renowned pianist and composer, Frederic Chopin.
Enjoy award-winning Cass wines while reveling in the dazzling sonorities of classical piano music.
Capricious Clarinet
Enjoy the Delightful Sound of the Clarinet
Off-the Vines Concert at Cass winery
Outstanding local clarinetist Richard Dobeck is featured in this Off-The-Vines concert at the stunning Cass winery. Richard is joined Dmitriy Cogan and Hilary Clark for Johannes Brahms’ trio for clarinet, cello and piano along with other pieces.
Enjoy award-winning Cass wines in a beautiful setting while being immersed in masterworks works of classical music performed with passion by Symphony of the Vines musicians.
Heroic Beethoven
Beethoven’s Third Symphony
We look forward to seeing you at our first symphony concert!
Beethoven’s growing deafness caused him severe isolation and loneliness. He even contemplated suicide. In the end, art kept him going, and out of this dark period, he created one of the most revolutionary works, the Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”.
As we come out of our own dark period of isolation from this pandemic, we can once again celebrate great art together. On this 20th anniversary of 9/11 we remember those who were lost, and also those lost to the pandemic. In honor of those, we present Samuel Barber’s emotional Adagio for Strings.
Cellist Hilary Clark will be featured in the world premiere of the Cello Concerto by Daniel Baldwin.
Cherished Chamber Music
Celebrate Beethoven
Join us for the opening concert of the 2021-2022 season!
We are thrilled to be back to performing live classical music for you! Kick off our 12th season with three of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most beloved chamber music works:
Violin Sonata op. 24 “Spring”
Cello Sonata op. 69
Piano Trio op. 97 “Archduke”
Featuring Grace Seng, violin
Hilary Clark, cello
Dmitriy Cogan, piano
Outstanding young cellist Colin Guan will be featured as our Student Spotlight performer.
Enjoy award-winning Cass wines in a beautiful setting while being immersed in monumental works of classical music performed with passion by Symphony of the Vines musicians.
Symphony of the Vines Fundraising Event
A Unique Evening of Music, Food & Wine at Pear Valley Vineyard
Join us to help support our upcoming 2021-2022 season of classical music at the gorgeous Pear Valley Vineyards!
You’ll enjoy their delicious handcrafted wines, great appetizers, a casual and festive atmosphere, and of course - amazing classical music presented by violinist Valerie Berg-Johansen and some surprise special guests you won’t want to miss!
Your ticket includes:
Admission to the event
One glass of Pear Valley Wine
Appetizers
We have missed you and can’t wait to see your smiling faces again!
Clarinet Quintet
Wednesday, February 12, 7pm | Monarch Club at Trilogy, Nipomo
Thursday, February 13, 4pm | Pear Valley Estate Wine, Paso Robles
Featuring Nancy Mathison, clarinet, Grace Seng and Valerie Berg-Johansen, violin, Andrew Grishaw, viola, Hilary Clark, cello
Clarinetist Nancy Mathison joins Symphony of the Vines to celebrate our 10th Anniversary Season with an exciting program for the musicians and audience alike. Enjoy the unique timbre of the clarinet accompanied by a string quartet in this delightful concert featuring great chamber works for the clarinet by Mozart et al.
Clarinetist Nancy Mathison joins a string quartet for great chamber music works by composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gerald Finzi and Astor Piazzolla. The quintet includes musicians Grace Seng and Valerie Berg-Johansen, violin, Andrew Grishaw, viola, and Hilary Clark, cello.
We are pleased to present a Student Spotlight featuring Joseph Galicinao, horn musician from Pioneer Valley High School. Watch an interview with Joseph here: https://symphonyofthevines.org/educational/
Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581 – Mozart
This program features Mozart’s Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581. Mozart was one of the first composers to use the clarinet in a symphony. Mozart’s fascination with the clarinet late in life resulted from his friendship with the Austrian clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler (1753-1812), one of the composer’s fellow Freemasons in Vienna. It was for Stadler that Mozart wrote the Quintet, K.581.
Five Bagatelles, Opus 23 – Finzi
Gerald Finzi was an exceptionally interesting figure. Trained in York and London, he was a sensitive and introspective man who eventually renounced the life of the city and moved with his wife to the countryside. Finzi’s Five Bagatelles took shape over a long period. It appears that he began work on some pieces for clarinet and piano during the 1920s, when he was still a music student in London, and then set them aside. He returned to his sketches nearly two decades later, during World War II. Finzi was a pacifist, but he understood what was at stake during that war, and he spent the war working for the Ministry of War Transport in London. In 1941 he returned to his early sketches and composed the first three bagatelles, adding a fourth in 1942. These were premiered in January 1943, but when it came time to publish this music, Finzi’s publisher felt that the four pieces needed a fast finale, so Finzi composed the concluding Fughetta. The Five Bagatelles have become one of Finzi’s most popular compositions, and they are heard at this concert in an arrangement by Christopher Alexander for clarinet and string quartet.
Oblivion – Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla was a fabulously talented young man, and that wealth of talent caused him some confusion as he tried to decide on a career path. Very early he learned to play the bandoneon, the Argentinian accordion-like instrument that uses buttons rather than a keyboard, and he became a virtuoso on it. He gave concerts, made a film soundtrack, and created his own bands before a desire for wider expression drove him to the study of classical music. In 1954 he received a grant to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and it was that great teacher who advised him to follow his passion for the Argentinian tango as the source for his own music.
Piazzolla returned to Argentina and gradually evolved his own style, one that combines the tango, jazz, and classical music. In his hands, the tango–which had deteriorated into a soft, popular form–was revitalized. Oblivion comes from the sultry side of the tango. Over the melting rhythms of the opening, the haunting and dark main theme sings its sad song, and this will return in a number of guises. Piazzolla varies the accompaniment beneath this tune, and the tango stays firmly within its somber and expressive opening mood.
Nightclub 1960 from l’histoire du tango – Piazzola (arr. Ulrich Nyffeler)
In the mid-1980s Piazzolla published what has become one of his most popular works, L’histoire du tango, a survey of how that form had evolved in four different decades across the twentieth century. Piazzolla originally scored his “History of the Tango” for flute and guitar as a way of evoking the tango’s origins, but this music has been heard in countless arrangements, and at this concert its third movement, Night Club 1960, is heard in an arrangement for clarinet and string quartet. Night Club 1960 brings us the tango in transition toward something livelier, as contemporary Latin dance forms began to reinvigorate it.
Bach Cello Suites
Saturday, January 25, 1pm | Grace Bible Church, Arroyo Grande
Sunday, January 26, 4pm | Pear Valley Estate Wine, Paso Robles
Featuring Nancy Mathison, clarinet, Grace Seng and Valerie Berg-Johansen, violin, Andrew Grishaw, viola, Hilary Clark, cello
BACH’S CELLO SUITES
Symphony of the Vines is completing the cycle of Bach’s Cello Suites. Last season, we presented suites 2, 3 and 4. This program features the Bach’s first and last two suites in the series. Each artist presents her own vision of these intimate works. Featuring cellists Jeanne Shumway, Barbara Hunter-Spencer, and Hilary Clark.
Bach’s Cello Suites are some of the most emotionally intense pieces in the Baroque repertoire, making the most of the emotional depth of a solo cello and using a wide range of complex playing techniques.
There are six suites in all, each with six movements, each of which acts like a musical conversation – high passages are echoed by reflective low playing, and dense chords accompany delicate ornamental flourishes. The most famous movement, the ‘Prelude’ from Suite No. 1 in G, is a great example of Bach’s genius; there is no accompaniment, but the harmony plays out note-by-note like a musical journey, as chords are implied over the course of a bar rather than played.
Interestingly, there are no tempo markings for any of the movements given by the composer. Therefore, it is up to the performer to choose the suitable pulse for her interpretation.
Suite No. 1 – Jeanne Shumway
Suite No. 5 – Barbara Hunter-Spencer
Suite No. 6 – Hilary Clark
For such a popular set of works, it is amazing how little we know about the genesis of the Cello Suites. Bach’s manuscript of them is lost, with little chance it will ever be found. So musicians have relied on a copy written out by his second wife, Anna Magdalena.
It’s perhaps more astounding that these amazing works weren’t widely known before the 1900s, and were merely dismissed as studies.
The Cello Suites are an integral part of the cello repertoire. Most well-known cellists regard performing and recording the whole set as a milestone in their career.
The Suites for Unaccompanied Cello
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach
Died July 28, 1750, Leipzig
Bach’s six suites for unaccompanied cello date from about 1720, when the composer was kapellmeister (director of music) and working for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen in Leipzig,
Germany. Bach did not play the cello, and it may well be that he wrote these suites for Christian Ferdinand Abel, cellist in the Köthen orchestra and one of the best cellists in Europe. Abel and Bach became good friends (Bach was the godfather of one of Abel’s sons), and almost certainly the two worked together as these suites were composed: Bach would have asked him what was possible and what was not, what worked and what didn’t, and so on. The result is music for cello that is very idiomatically written but also supremely difficult, and all by itself this music may tell us how high the standard of music-making was in the Cöthen court when Bach was there. Bach’s suites for solo cello remained for years the property of a handful of connoisseurs–they were not published until 1828, over a century after they were written.
Bach understood the term “suite” to mean a collection of dance movements in the basic sequence of allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue, which is the same sequence of movements of his instrumental partitas. But Bach added an introductory prelude to all six cello suites, and into each suite he interpolated one extra dance movement just before the final gigue to make a total of six movements. All movements after the opening prelude are in binary form.
Bach’s cello suites have presented performers with a host of problems because none of Bach’s original manuscripts survives. The only surviving copies were made by Bach’s second wife and one of his students, and – lacking even such basic performances markings as bowings and dynamics – these texts present performers with innumerable problems of interpretation. In a postscript to his edition of these suites, Janos Starker notes that one of the pleasures of going to heaven will be that he will finally be able to discuss with Bach himself exactly how the composer wants this music played. In the meantime, individual performers must make their own artistic decisions, and these suites can sound quite different in the hands of different cellists.
Baroque Masters Symphony Concert
Saturday, January 11, 7pm | Trinity Methodist Church, Los Osos
Sunday, January 12, 3pm | Mission San Miguel
Symphony of the Vines is an orchestra made up of great musicians who expertly step into the limelight to perform as soloists.
Indulge in the greatest works by the 18th Century masters brilliantly performed by Symphony of the Vines. Works by J. S. Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Corelli, Telemann, and Geminiani.
Indulge in the greatest works by 18th Century master composers brilliantly performed by Symphony of the Vines. Works by J. S. Bach, Marcello, Vivaldi, Handel, Corelli, and Geminiani.
The music of these baroque masters are made up of multiple threads weaving together a beautiful tapestry of sound. It is likely that many of these works were intended to be performed with one player on a part, which is the approach we are taking with this concert. This highlights the clarity of the polyphonic writing and the colors of the individual instruments. The composers on this program represent the greatest masters of the era.
The concert features several “Concerto Grosso” works that feature two solo violins and cello. We rotate our exceptional violinists around so that each of them have the opportunity to play both solo parts and “ripieno,” or orchestra, parts.
Two of the works on the program feature single soloists. Cellist, Hilary Clark, will perform Marcello’s Sonata in F. Violinist, Maurice Sklar, will perform J. S. Bach’s famous Concerto No. 2 in E. These concerts are presented in two acoustically and aesthetically excellent spaces; Trinity Los Osos, and Mission San Miguel.
Baroque Masters tickets are $15 Adult, $27 Senior and $15 Students. Students K-12 are free with a paid adult thanks to a sponsorship from Jim and Carolyn Brescia. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.symphonyofthevines.org.
Maurice Sklar, violin
Dr. Maurice Sklar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Russian-Jewish family with a rich musical heritage. At age four, he began playing the violin. He won numerous awards from the age of nine, and left home to study violin with Fredell Lack in Houston, Texas, when he was only thirteen. He attended Meadowmount Summer Music School, Ivan Galamian’s Strings Camp, for seven consecutive years from the age of thirteen to nineteen.
Accepted at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City at the age of fifteen, Maurice subsequently won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music at the age of sixteen, where he studied with the great violin teacher, Ivan Galamian.
Dr. Maurice Sklar has appeared as soloist with many orchestras and he continues to perform concerts across the country and abroad.
Hilary Clark, cello
Hilary Clark studied cello performance at UC Santa Barbara, Western Michigan University, UC Santa Cruz, and the Meadowmount School for Strings. Currently she performs with numerous local chamber groups, Santa Maria Philharmonic, and is a nuclear medicine technologist at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
Symphony of the Vines, Dr. Greg Magie, Music Director
Violin: Emily Lanzone, Valerie Berg-Johansen, Maurice Sklar, Grace Seng
Viola: Andrew Grishaw
Cello: Hilary Clark
Bass: David George
Harpsichord: Paul Woodring
PROGRAM
Concerto Grosso in A Minor, op. 3, no. 8 – A. Vivaldi
Emily Lanzone & Valerie Berg-Johansen
Sonata I – B. Marcello
Hilary Clark
Concerto Grosso “La Follia” in D Minor – F. Geminiani
Grace Seng & Hilary Clark
Concerto Grosso in G Minor, op. 6, no. 8 “Christmas” – A. Corelli
Valerie Berg-Johansen & Grace Seng
Concerto for Violin in E Major – J. S. Bach
Maurice Sklar
Concerto Grosso in A Major, op. 6, no. 11 – G. F. Handel
Valerie Berg-Johansen & Emily Lanzone