We just completed our 1997-1998 musical season,
with our annual Stephen S. Wise Temple concert played to a full house.
The program included a performance of the "Scherzo" by Rachmaninoff and the
Dvorak "Symphony Number 6", which was thrilling to play and to hear. It is
a difficult work, and the orchestra came through with a truly polished performance.
Earlier in the year, we did among other works, the Mozart "F Major Piano Concerto
No. 19 (K.459)" with the winners of the Music Teachers Association of California,
West Los Angeles chapter piano competition which was held in November. The
concerts were held in Culver City and then at Moorpark College, a new venue
for us. The student soloists were marvelous, and the overall continuity of
the Mozart even with three different soloists was exceptional.
We also performed a concert at Leisure
World in Laguna Hills on Sunday February 8, 1998. The program for this
concert featured the same "F Major" Mozart piano concerto again with our three
student soloists. The program was very well received, including an unexpected
request for an encore.
The orchestra returned to Gindi Auditorium
at the University of Judaism for our annual concert as a benefit for the
Elderhostel program there on Wednesday, March 18th. The program opened with
what is believed to be the first Los Angeles performance of a "Polonaise"
in E-Flat Major by Dvorak. Also on the program was the first complete Los
Angeles performance of a concerto by Georg Phillip Telemann for 2 Oboes and
Trumpet, as orchestrated by our music director, Ivan Shulman. The soloists
were the orchestra’s guest principal oboist, Linda Muggeridge and trumpeter
David Saunders. Ivan Shulman picked up his oboe once again, to complete the
solo roster for this concerto. The rarely heard "Sea Pictures" by Sir Edward
Elgar was also performed with the outstanding contralto Cynthia Theo as our
soloist. This beautiful work features 5 poems in English set to a ravishing
orchestral accompaniment. Why this work is not done more often is a mystery,
and it may be simply because of the shortage of the appropriate dramatic contralto
voices. Ms. Theo’s performance clearly demonstrated both the beauty of her
voice, as well as that of this set of songs. The program concluded with a
performance of the Fourth Symphony of Franz Schubert, subtitled "Tragic".
Members of the orchestra traveled to Santa
Fe, New Mexico in April for a concert at St. Johns College where we
did the Dvorak Polonaise, the same Mozart Piano Concerto and the Schubert
again to a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience. Peter Pesic,
who teaches at St. Johns was our distinguished piano soloist in the Mozart.
We had 2 concerts in our season celebrating
the July 4th. The first of these concerts was held at the Scripps Home
for the Aged in Altadena on July 3rd, at 7:00 PM. Our annual Beverly Hills
Civic Center performance was held as usual at 3:00 PM on July 4th,
at the Boat Court in the Beverly Hills Civic Center, with free parking
available in the Public Library garage.
The program consisted of patriotic favorites with the theme
"A Salute to All Americans." The soloist for this performance was be the
young Israeli-American baritone Ron Li-Paz doing the "Old American Songs"
of Aaron Copland. Ron is a wonderful musician, and this was certainly a
wonderful performance. Bring liquid refreshments next year and enjoy!
1998 - 1999 Concert
Season
- Young winners of the 1998 Music Teachers Association
of California, (W. L. A. Chapter) annual piano competition, performed
with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra at its first concert of
the 1998-99 season on Sunday, December 13, 1998 at 2:30PM at the Culver
City Memorial Auditorium. Under the baton of music director, Ivan
Shulman, the concert featured each three young soloists, students
of Bruce Sutherland, each playing one movement of the Beethoven Piano
Concerto No. 2 in B Flat major, Opus 21. Cynthia Hsu performed
the Movement I-- Allegro Con Brio, Valley Chung. performed
Movement II-- Adagio, and Christina Park performed Movement
III-- Molto Allegro.
- In honor of the winter season, this concert also included
with music of composers from the "Snow Countries", Sibelius, Tchaikowsky,
Borodin and others. The remainder of the concert included festive holiday
music for Chanukah and Christmas. This concert was made possible, in part,
by performance arts funding from the City of Culver City and by a grant
from the Los Angeles County Art Commission.
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- We also performed a very warmly received concert at Music
Academy of the West - Abravanel Hall in Montecito, California on Saturday,
March 6, 1999. The concert began with the world premiere of a piece commissioned
by the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra, Western Suite
by Adrienne Albert. Under the baton of music director, Ivan
Shulman, the concert also featured three young soloist, students
of Bruce Sutherland, each playing one movement of the Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat major, Opus 21. Cynthia Hsu
performed the Movement I-- Allegro Con Brio, Joshua Chong
performed Movement II-- Adagio, and Christina Park performed
Movement III-- Molto Allegro. The Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra
concluded the concert with the Symphony Number 6 in D-Major, Op. 60 by
Dvorak.
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- On Tuesday, June 15th the Doctors Symphony Orchestra
performed the a very inspiring Beethoven Symphony Number 9 in D Minor
Opus 125, the Choral, conducted by Ivan Shulman, at the
Stephen S. Wise Temple. The soloists were Marya Basaraba,
soprano; Adrien Raynier, alto; Stephen Plummer, tenor;and
Michael Paul Smith, baritone. The chorus was comprised
of members of the UCLA Campus Choir, with Irene Kim, director and "The
Notables", with Randy Schwalbe, director.
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- We had 2 concerts in our season celebrating the July
4th. The first of these concerts was held at the Scripps Home for the
Aged in Altadena on July 2rd, at 7:00 PM. Our annual Beverly Hills Civic
Center performance was held as usual at 3:00 PM on July 4th, at the Boat
Court in the Beverly Hills Civic Center. The program consisted of patriotic
favorites with the "A Salute to All Americans". Star Spangled Bannerby
Key, Washington Post March by Sousa, Crown Imperial March by Elgar, Polonaise
by Dvorak, Polovetsian March by Borodin, Western Suite by Albert, Blue
Tango by Anderson, Battle Hymn of the Republic bySteffe-Wilhousky, American
Salute by Gould, and ending with the Stars and Stripes by Sousa.
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