Anyone who thinks that top quality classical music is the province of places like Santa Barbara or Los Angeles certainly wasn’t in attendance at the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society’s premier concert of the 2015-2016 season on Sept. 26 at the historic Ethel Pope Auditorium at Santa Maria High School. The concert was a testament to the immense amount of collected talent the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys, especially when performing under the baton of longtime Maestro John Farrer, who also conducts for the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra and the Roswell Symphony Orchestra.
Keeping in line with the Philharmonic Society’s commitment to education and outreach, the concert was preceded with a lecture by Allan Hancock College music professor Dr. Ann D. Lucas, who gave an account of each piece densely packed with context. The evening included the Benvenuto Cellini Overture by Hector Berlioz, the Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 by Felix Mendelssohn and featuring violin soloist Alexi Kenney before the intermission, and Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 by Ludwig Van Beethoven following the intermission.
No small feat, performing three hugely important pieces of the Romantic era (yes, Beethoven counts) in a night, but it was a challenge the Philharmonic was more than ready for, perhaps with the exception of one element. The violin soloist slated to perform the Mendelssohn concerto had unfortunately backed out a couple of weeks before the event, explained the society’s President Jed Beebe before the concert began, and the young soloist Alexi Kenney from Palo Alto agreed to fill the spot on short notice. The inconvenience made for an astounding collaboration between the orchestra, Farrer, and the 21-year-old wunderkind Kenney.
Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini Overture was a perfect piece of program music to warm up the audience before the heady absoluteness of Mendelssohn and Beethoven. Vaulting melodies, and pitch-perfect brass and woodwind sections revealed a great deal of character and drama under the way of Farrer’s baton, but the collected ensemble was just warming up as well.
Mendelssohn’s violin concerto still stands as a supremely important piece for the violin, and after hearing Kenney’s performance with the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra, it’s easy to understand why. The piece is truly virtuosic, and sounds often improvisatory at times where the soloist is concerned. Kenney has played the concerto since he was 9 years old, he said following the performance during intermission, so the piece is more than familiar to him, though he performed it as if it was all a fresh stream of consciousness.
Kenney remarked that working with the Philharmonic was a breeze, and that the venue made an impression as well.
“The hall is beautiful, has beautiful acoustics, and it was really fun to play with the orchestra,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful experience.”
The entire performance had no amplification, doing so would have been obscene, as the Ethel Pope Auditorium was the most perfect amplifier for the rich bass end, colorful midranges, and heavenly tones of the violins, especially Kenney’s, which filled the hall. The concerto received an immediate standing ovation when it was completed, and Kenney received another standing ovation after a brief, though passionate, encore of the solo Tango Etude No. 3 by Piazzolla.
After the intermission, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra brought the evening home with a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Maestro Farrer returned, but not to a podium, as the veteran conductor impressively led the orchestra from memory. Often reserved, and quite subtle in his movement, Farrer truly understood the pacing necessary to the monumental work, conducting the slow movement as if on a tightrope, yet bringing the presto and allegro movements forward with gusto and considerable skill.
The evening concluded with another standing ovation following the beloved and lovingly performed symphony, clearly enjoyed by all present. The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society definitely delivered a clear message without a single word on Sept. 26: The local nonprofit orchestra is no longer in recovery mode but thriving in its place as the jewel in the Santa Maria Valley’s musical crown.
Arts Editor Joe Payne can be reached at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2015.