It’s important to open a symphonic season strong, at least that’s what Michael Nowak says.
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society’s music director had that in mind when he programmed the first concert of his now second season with the orchestra. The first half will include two pieces that highlight a solo violinist, Jessica Guideri, who Nowak described as a “captivating” and “mesmerizing” performer.
“I like opening a concert, especially of a season, with one solo violin player, and then ending with the entire orchestra just playing,” Nowak said. “So we go from almost nothing to this gigantic crescendo throughout the evening.”
The first piece that Guideri will perform with the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra and Nowak is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending.” The British composer was celebrated for his interpretation of tonality that reflected British music and culture, without pulling heavily from the German tradition of symphonic art music.
“The Lark Ascending” begins with a very ethereal sound from the orchestra, over which the violin part soars in fleeting melodic passages. Nowak expressed an affinity for Vaughan Williams’ music, and that piece especially.
“It sort of speaks to me,” he said. “I’m not English, but there’s something that brings me to a place where I feel like I’m home. It just feels so right.”
The next piece, which concludes the first half of the concert, is “Introduction et rondo capriccioso” by Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns. That selection is a real “showpiece,” Nowak said, which will allow Guideri to display her virtuosity.
The second half of the concert is dedicated solely to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5,” which begins with a soft and slow declaration in the key of e minor.
“It’s one of the stalwarts of the classical literature,” Nowak said. “I just love it, it’s very exciting and beautiful music, and the slow movement with the great horn solo, it’s been very, very popular for very many years.”
Nowak said he approaches works like Tchaikovsky’s fifth symphony as a singer who is telling a story. The symphony is the “vehicle” for a “travelogue” that the composer has conjured, he explained.
“That’s the magic of it. If composers have the ability to do that, they can take you outside of where we are now and plant you someplace else,” he said. “I think that’s true of the Vaughan Williams, and I think that’s true of Saint-Saëns, and it’s true of the Tchaikovsky. We are going to be traveling in different places around the world and also different feelings within ourselves.”
The journey that Nowak hopes to take the Santa Maria Philharmonic’s audience on goes beyond the concert and across the whole season as well.
It’s also a journey that plenty of locals are ready to embark on, as the nonprofit has recently received a few substantial donations. Judy and Hardy Hearn donated $5,000 they raised after charging for parking at a lot they own during a July car show in Pismo Beach. An anonymous donation of $10,000 was also made during a recent fundraiser drive.
Most recently, the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County contributed a soon-to-be-announced amount of money to help fund youth outreach concerts this year, which will feature an original program called “Fly Me to the Moon” prepared by Nowak and his wife that includes a live performance by the orchestra accompanied by video clips.
Nowak said he sees the recent influx of funds just before the beginning of the season as a good sign for not just the orchestra, but for the music culture in the valley.
“We love the support,” he said. “I’m really glad that people are catching on to what a wonderful orchestra we have and what wonderful concerts we’re putting on right here in Santa Maria.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne thinks music deserves plenty of support. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 21-28, 2017.