From a press release:
WALNUT CREEK (August 15, 2012) – Coming off last year’s triumphant 25th anniversary season, the California Symphony’s 2012-2013 season will focus on selecting a new music director to lead the acclaimed orchestra into a new era of world-class music-making for audiences here in the East Bay.
Seven internationally-renowned conductors, all having led major orchestras throughout the world, will audition for the position by leading the California Symphony in programs that showcase music’s most beloved and enduring works, including short pieces, concertos and symphonies by the masters — Rachmaninoff, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Berlioz, Sibelius, Prokofiev — and contemporary artists Gershwin, Porter, Lowe and Adams. The symphony’s innovative Young Composer in Residence D.J. Sparr will also offer up another world premiere.
The seven concerts take place at the Lesher Center for Arts in Walnut Creek on September 30, October 18, December 23, January 20, February 12, March 3, and May 4 and 5.
For his concert, each conductor has selected pieces that will delight audiences and showcase his musical chops and unique artistic vision. Some concerts also feature soloists who have emerged as rising stars in 21st century music: pianists Gregory Taboloff and Haochen Zhang, soprano Sarah Jane McMahon, clarinet player David Singer and violinist Caroline Goulding.
The symphony has been without a music director for the past two seasons, relying on the talents of guest conductors, several who are among this season’s finalists for the top job.
During the 2011-12 season, the symphony refined its focus as the Walnut Creek-based orchestra that brings audiences closer to the music they love in the more intimate setting of the Lesher Center’s 785-seat Hofmann Theatre. This focus and the stellar performances of the guest conductors, soloists and orchestra musicians during the 2011-12 season garnered the symphony some of the best reviews and most enthusiastic audiences of its quarter-century history. This success prompted the orchestra to add three concerts to its program for 2012-13. Two of these concerts are more accessible, constructed around the themes of Halloween and Valentine’s Day. The third is a holiday concert that will take place in December, after the symphony scored an audience hit with its first ever holiday concert in December 2011.
The Lesher Center for the Arts is located at 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. Single tickets start at $35, and season subscriptions start at $130. For tickets and information, call (925) 943-SHOW (7469) or visit our website atwww.californiasymphony.org