# New Century Chamber Orchestra at First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, November 2, 2018

[New Century Chamber Orchestra](https://www.ncco.org/201819-season/program-1) presents [Anthony Marwood](http://www.anthonymarwood.com/) Leads featuring [James Crabb](http://www.jamescrabb.com/)  
[First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto](http://firstpaloalto.com/)  
[625 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301-2016 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=625+Hamilton+Ave,+Palo+Alto,+CA+94301-2016+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Friday, November 2, 2018

[[2018-11-01|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2018|Up to the 2018 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2018#November_events|Up to the 2018 event list!]] ☸ [[2018-11-04|On to the next event!]]

## Set One

[7:32 PM lights down, band out; Anthony Marwood talks about tonight's first work]

### Beamish: _Seavaigers_

Sally Beamish (b.1956): _Seavaigers_, Concerto for violin, accordion and strings (2011, US Premiere); [Composer's Note](https://www.sallybeamish.com/single-post/2018/10/05/Seavaigers-Concerto-for-Fiddle-Scottish-Lever-Harp-and-Strings)

01. [7:36 PM] _Storm_
02. [7:43 PM] _Lament_
03. [7:50 PM] _Haven_  
[work ends 7:57 PM]

### Dvorák: Serenade for Strings

Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904): Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 (1875)

01. [8:00 PM] _Moderato_
02. [8:05 PM] _Minuet. Allegro con moto - Trio_
03. [8:12 PM] _Scherzo. Vivace_
04. [8:18 PM] _Larghetto_
05. [8:23 PM] _Finale. Allegro vivace_  
[set ends 8:30 PM]

## Set Two: Pēteris Vasks: Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, ‘Distant Light’

[8:51 PM lights down, announcements, band out]

Pēteris Vasks (b.1946): _Distant Light_, Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra (1997); [Composer's Note](https://www.eamdc.com/news/Peteris-Vasks-Violin-Concerto-Distant-Light-in-North-American-Premiere-in-Quebec/)

01. [8:52 PM] _Andante_ »
02. [8:5n PM] _Cadenza 1_ »
03. [9:00 PM] _Cantabile_ »
04. [9:03 PM] _Mosso_ »
05. [9:0n PM] _Cadenza 2_ »
06. [9:07 PM] _Cantabile Agitato_ »
07. [9:nn PM] _Cadenza 3_ »
08. [9:nn PM] _Tempo di Valse_ »
09. [9:15 PM] _Andante_  
[show ends 9:23 PM; lots of applause, but no encore]

## Performers

### NCCO

[NCCO](http://ncco.org/)

* Hrabba Atladottir: violin I;
* Robin Bonnell: acting principal cello;
* [Michelle Djokic](https://www.facebook.com/michelle.djokic): cello;
* [Jenny Douglass](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-douglass-6a28b672): viola;
* Jory Fankuchen: violin II;
* Eric Gaenslen: cello;
* Mike Graham: cello;
* [Candace Guirao](https://www.facebook.com/people/Candace-Guirao/100011271488928): principal violin II;
* [Dawn Harms](http://dawnharms.com/): violin I, associate concertmaster;
* [Anna Kruger](http://www.csus.edu/music/faculty/kruger.html): principal viola;
* [Anthony Manzo](http://www.chambermusicsociety.org/artists/artist/anthony_manzo): contrabass;
* [Robin Mayforth](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-mayforth-897b735): violin I;
* Emily Onderdonk: viola;
* [Deborah Tien Price](https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-tien-price-3651294): violin II;
* Evan Price: violin II;
* [Cassandra Lynne Richburg](http://cassandralynnerichburg.com/): viola;
* Iris Stone: violin I;
* [Michael Yokas](https://www.facebook.com/michael.yokas): violin II.

### Special Guests

* [James Crabb](http://www.jamescrabb.com/): accordion;
* [Anthony Marwood](http://www.anthonymarwood.com/): violin, guest concertmaster.

## Notes

Interim musical director Daniel Hope is off touring his own chamber program this fall (and sadly, I missed his recent local performance), but happily, he has terrific connections, so NCCO was led tonight by the amazing [Anthony Marwood](http://www.anthonymarwood.com/). How did that go? I thought that the show tonight was super good, a great example of top-notch ensemble playing, and a nice step up from the introspection of [[2018-11-01|last night's]] solo piano set.

It's possible that the _US Premiere_ annotation for _Seavaigers_ refers to this new version (for violin and accordion; no arrangement date given yet) -- I've found reference to a 10/13/17 performance date for this version with the same soloists in Montreal, but no earlier pointers to a US performance of this iteration or the original, written for violin and clàrsach (Scottish harp), which premeried early in January 2012.

The elegantly romantic classicism of Dvorák's' _Serenade for Strings_ was a fine follow-up to close the second set. Hearing it, I was darn sure that I've witnessed it's performance many times, even by NCCO, but strangely, zero references turned up in a quick search of my past show-posts. My guess is that the data is buried in the pile of hand-written notes and program books that I've yet to publish online. Dang! Well anyways, it was good to hear it again, and the NCCO acquitted themselves very nicely!

I'm pretty sure that Pēteris Vasks' work, _Distant Light_, was new to me (though given my search failure on Dvorák, I'm not so sure that I haven't heard Vasks at one of Gidon Kremer's concerts). And having a chance to listen carefully in a nice hall with an attentive audience, the work made a strongly positive impression. It's certainly modern, what with all the high glissando elements in the solo violin part, yet I felt like it was also firmly rooted in the same classical tradition as the preceding work by Dvorák. The extended techniques were used to develop new growth on the old bush rather than  avant-classical pieces from the past century that rejected the old forms and sprouted like upstart weeds. Hearing this makes me look forward to more from Vasks on future programs!

[Program Notes](externalURL) or {{:2018:2018-11:program_notes.pdf|program notes}}

Jessica Balik posted a [review](https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/new-century-chamber-orchestra/marwood-mends-new-century-chamber-orchestra-opener) of Saturday's gig in San Francisco for SFCV.

Joshua Kosman posted a [review](https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/new-century-opens-its-season-with-a-mixed-pair-of-concertos) of Sunday night's performance in San Rafael for the SF Chronicle Datebook.

{{tag>music NCCO Anthony_Marwood James_Crabb First_United_Methodist_Church_of_Palo_Alto Hrabba_Atladottir Robin_Bonnell Michelle_Djokic Jenny_Douglass Jory_Fankuchen Eric_Gaenslen Mike_Graham Candace_Guirao Dawn_Harms Anna_Kruger Anthony_Manzo Robin_Mayforth Emily_Onderdonk Deborah_Tien_Price Evan_Price Cassandra_Lynne_Richburg Iris_Stone Michael_Yokas}}

[[2018-11-01|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2018|Up to the 2018 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2018#November_events|Up to the 2018 event list!]] ☸ [[2018-11-04|On to the next event!]]