The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society is gearing up for the opening concert of its season—the first full concert season the Philharmonic has offered since it underwent restructuring over a year ago. A variety of performances will be offered throughout the season, including some concerts with smaller ensembles, and a showcase of the orchestra’s full might.
The upcoming concert, titled Voices of Passion, highlights the skills of the Santa Maria Philharmonic string players and a guest soprano vocalist. Conducting the concert will be James Riccardo, a violinist who has performed with the Philharmonic for several years, and who will guide the 17-piece string ensemble during the concert.
“What struck me about everything in this program is it is relatively modern music, but within a deep romantic tradition,” Riccardo said. “I have picked music that lends itself toward huge sounds, so I am hoping to really get as much sound out of every performer as possible.”
An ensemble of 17 players is quite small compared to the Santa Maria Philharmonic in all its might. The ensemble will include violins, violas, cello, and bass, as well as a guest pianist and organist sitting in on some of the pieces. The program begins with instrumental works for strings, including the Adagio for Strings and Organ by Tomaso Albinoni and the Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber.
Riccardo knows strings well—he will be performing solo violin for one piece during the concert—and knows how to maximize a small ensemble’s sound.
“If you have ever listened to Joshua Bell or Itzhak Perlman, there is this enormous, dark, rich sound that comes out,” he said. “With this group, I try to inspire the 17 string players in front of me to be those powerful virtuosic soloists.”
Guest soprano vocalist Ursula Maria Kleinecke-Boyer, who is hailed for her strong voice and emotionally charged interpretations, will be joining the string ensemble. She will sing two modern song cycles, one of which is by 20th century Dutch composer Henrik Andriessen.
Riccardo is lending more than just his baton and violin to the program, but also a song cycle he composed himself in 2004. Inspired by a set of poems penned by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca about a struggle between a mother and son, Riccardo’s song cycle was composed for a string ensemble and soprano vocalist, which he uses to convey the emotion depicted in the verses.
“When you write for voices, they are saying words, and people understand words, so the composer must write the music to match the words. And the only way to do this is with tonal music,” he said.
Western art music underwent a dramatic shift during the 20th century when tonality was abandoned for atonal styles. The avant-garde nature of atonalism made the style very difficult for casual listeners to understand, and may have had an influence on classical music culture, Riccardo explained.
“One reason, I feel, the so-called death of modern classical music happened, is because during the last half of the century it became less accessible,” he said. “It became very mathematical and cerebral, and it lost the heart.”
Though modern composers embrace the atonal style precisely for its mathematical nature, many contemporaries still work within the structure of tonality. Composers like Riccardo are challenged, though, when composing new contemporary tonal music to not sound derivative.
“We have to be very careful, so we don’t sound like we are copying Beethoven or Mozart, because people will laugh at us,” he said. “We are trying to find the beauty and meaning in music, and I have always felt, if the audience isn’t touched or moved, then they aren’t going to come back.”
The style of conducting that Riccardo embraces, whether a Baroque violin concerto or a Romantic-era barnburner, is to tap into the emotion embodied in the music, and transform it from silent dots on a page into a living musical moment. It also helps to have a good space to explore the sound in, Riccardo explained.
“The First United Methodist Church has such a rich, warm, and vibrant sound, that when we play in there, it almost acts like another musician, and doubles the amount of sound that comes out of the ensemble,” he said. “We are very lucky for the orchestra to get access to the church.”
Songs in the Samala
The Chumash Casino Resort offers a live concert featuring country star Sara Evans performing live Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. Martin Nievera performs live Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. at the Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 E. Highway 246, Santa Ynez. More information is available at 1-800-CHUMASH or chumashcasino.com.
Live in Lompoc
The D’Vine Wine Bar and Bistro includes regular live entertainment including Jerry Stickle performing Oct. 23. Mike Shelton performs Oct. 25. Shows happen from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the D’Vine Wine Bar and Bistro, 107 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc. More information is available at 430-8356 or dvinewinebarandbistro.com.
Keeping the mic open
Lucia’s Wine Co. offers an open mic event for musicians and poets on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Lucia’s Wine Co. Tasting Room, 126 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt. More information is available at 332-3080 or lucias-wine-co.com.
Get down at the Maverick
The Maverick Saloon offers live entertainment each weekend, including a performance by Randy Emmet and the Cow Tippers on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. Concert on the Deck with the Cow Tippers is Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. Randy Emmet and the Cow Tippers performs Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. at the saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More info: 686-4785 or mavericksyv@aol.com.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 23-30, 2014.