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Friday, June 6, 2025
 Recent Reviews
SYMPHONY
YOUTHFUL VIRTUOSITY ON DISPLAY AT USO'S MAY CONCERTS
by Peter Lert
Saturday, May 17, 2025
USO May 18 in Center Theater
The final concert of the Ukiah Symphony's 2024-2025 season featured the winners of the Orchestra's Youth Concerto Competition, for which entrants must be undergraduate student musicians. Winners were flutist Sungdu Bae, a senior at Sonoma State University, and violinist Serena She, a freshman conser...
SYMPHONY
MYSTICAL PLANETS AND LIVELY GERSHWIN ORTIZ AT FINAL SRS CONCERT
by Peter Lert
Sunday, May 4, 2025
For their final concert of the 2024-2025 season the Santa Rosa Symphony programmed, in addition to a contemporary piece by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, two proven crowd pleasers: Gershwin’s 1925 Concerto in F, and Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets, composed during the first World War. These p...
SYMPHONY
VSO'S CONCERT MUSIC OF TIME, MUSIC OF PLACE
by Peter Lert
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Pianist Elizabeth Dorman
The Vallejo Symphony's final concert of the 2024-2025 season was performed April 27 in their usual venue, Vallejo's historic Empress Theater. Built in 1911 as one of the first small “movie palaces” in northern California, it went through various incarnations before being lovingly restored, complete ...
CHORAL AND VOCAL
VOCAL ELEGANCE AND FIRE AT THE 222'S RECITAL APRIL 26
by Pamela Hicks Gailey
Saturday, April 26, 2025
The opera series at Healdsburg’s 222 Gallery closed its season April 26 in a splendid program given by virtuoso soprano Chelsea Hollow with pianist Taylor Chan. It was a smallish audience for this eclectic program of art songs and cabaret pieces, yet Ms. Hollow sang the vocal pyro techniques as if ...
CANTIAMO SONOMA SINGS AN INSPIRED GOOD FRIDAY MOZART REQUIEM CONCERT
by Pamela Hicks Gailey
Friday, April 18, 2025
Cantiamo Sonoma
In retrospect, Cantiamo Sonoma’s April 18 performance of Mozart’s Requiem sadly presaged the loss of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. Santa Rosa’s Church of the Roses was packed even more than usual for their annual Good Friday concert, and Carol Menke led a musically solid, powerfully heartfelt rendi...
DRAMATIC SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY CLOSES PHILHARMONIC'S 25TH SEASON
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Sonoma County Philharmonic’s season ending concerts always program a work that can be a stretch for the all-volunteer orchestra, and April 12 and 13 found Shostakovich’s demanding D Minor 5th Symphony the piece de resistance. The weekend pair of concerts, conducted by Norman Gamboa in his th...
LARGE COLLEGE OF MARIN AUDIENCE GREETS STOPHER ARTISTRY
by Terry McNeill
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Pianist Jim Stopher
Music department faculty recitals are a rare commodity on the North Coast, and over many years one looked in vain for artist performances at Santa Rosa JC, Dominican University, Mendocino College, Sonoma State University, Napa College and Pacific Union College. No so at College of Marin, where facu...
CHAMBER
FRISSON DELIVERS SHIVERS OF DELIGHT
by Abby Wasserman
Sunday, March 30, 2025
“Frisson” means “a moment of intense excitement…a shiver,” and that’s what Frisson Nonet provided nonstop on March 30 at Mt. Tamalpais Methodist Church in Mill Valley. Their dynamic performances of works by Rossini, August Walter, Gershwin, Martinú and Ravel marked Chamber Music Marin’s season close...
OLD AND MOSTLY NEW IN SRS MARCH CONCERT IN WEILL
by Peter Lert
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Conductor Yue Bao
Santa Rosa Symphony's March 22 concert might be thought of as encompassing both the old world (Mendelssohn's E Minor Violin Concerto, one of the cornerstones of the German Romantic period) and the new, with both an echo of the European late romantic period: Dvorak's Symphony New World Symphony (No. ...
SYMPHONY
TWO FORMIDABLE SYMPHONIES AND PURPLE MOUNTAINS AT SRS CONCERT
by Peter Lert
Sunday, February 23, 2025
The Santa Rosa Symphony's February 23 concert included works from three distinct periods. Chinese American composer Shuyung Li’s Purple Mountains, premiered in 2023, while Brahms’ E Minor Symphony was first heard in 1885. Fitting between them was Leonard Bernstein's second, titled Age of Anxiety, ...
Local Concerts  
SYMPHONY REVIEW
Santa Rosa Symphony / Sunday, June 1, 2025
Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor

SRS SEASON ENDS WITH RESOUNDING TA-TA-TA-BANG

by Terry McNeill
Sunday, June 1, 2025

Finishing the 97th season, the Santa Rosa Symphony took a long stride June 1 on its “Road to 100” odyssey in a dramatic concert before an audience of 1,200 in Weill Hall. The “Road to 100” is a celebratory march and marketing slogan set to spotlight the Symphony’s nearly 100 years of concerts, and as these things go in the century’s path it’s a good one. As was the playing in two of Beethoven’s symphonies, the series of all nine works culminating in 2027/28.

Lighthearted drama in the D Major Symphony (No. 2) occupied the entire first half, conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong fashioning a middle-of-the-the-road tempo performance over 36 minutes in the Op. 36 four movement work from 1803. Potent thematic projection from horns and trumpets in the opening introduction characterized a movement of bold harmonic changes and spaciousness, and the conductor repeated the exposition briskly with exciting off-beat string accents.

Mr. Lecce-Chong conducted throughout with score but no podium, and the Larghetto unfolded as a lovely response to the boisterous Allegro con brio first movement. Low string support was ample, and the conductor crafted several subtle and flexible decrescendos diminuendos.

The music developed smoothly in the Scherzo (that’s not a conventional scherzo) and emphasized a strident F-Sharp Major key and short climaxes with trumpets (Kale Cummings and Leonard Ott) and Andrew Lewis’ tympani mastery.

People think of Haydn as the preeminent humorist in symphonies, but wittiness is shot through Beethoven’s compositions, and on display here in the finale with a small coy theme and lots of sonorous tremolo playing. The composer simply can’t let go of tuneful possibilities.

The afternoon’s piece de resistance, the iconic C Minor Symphony (No. 5), Op. 67, followed a lengthy intermission and extended from the stage remarks from the conductor about Beethoven’s universal impact. No grass grew here from the outset, Mr. Lecce-Chong eschewing extended pauses between the insistent, famous ta-ta-ta-TA motives and underscoring a compressed and powerful first movement interpretation that shortened fermatas and many phrases. Horn solos (Alena Zidlicky and Jason Whitney) were perfectly synchronized (and loud). At one place the horn line was held for many bars on one note.

The mesmerizing theme was supported by four basses and six cellos, the upper strings and the horns continually repeating the tune and cementing the musical concentration. The Coda was played violently.

Contrasting the first movement with the following Andante’s melodic variations was almost shocking under the conductor’s deft direction. All seemed leisurely with a slight yearning and palpable charm. A flute and oboe duo (Kathleen and Laura Reynolds) was beguiling.

The Scherzo was played quietly with clear articulation from basses and cellos, and Mr. Lecce- Chong’s control of the pianissimo sound was impressive. The finale was as expected thunderous, and added to the mix were three trombones, Juliet Hamak's contrabassoon and a piercing piccolo part (Stacy Pelinka). It was a triumph in C Major: long buildups of wonderfully blasting expressive sound that made the most of the hall’s half second plus reverberation time. Tension coupled with exalted release, 36 minutes of genius.

A resounding standing ovation brought the conductor several curtains calls and his recognition of instrumentalists, the most touching being Mr. Lecce-Chong’s quick foray into the standing orchestra to personally congratulate trombonist Kurt Patzner. Mr. Patzner was retiring after three decades of artistic service.

Other than a few summer chamber music events, the season was over with the concluding tumult. But not quite, as Executive Director Andrew Bradford and Board Chair Keven Brown invited the entire audience (yep, everyone) to a gratis glass of refreshment on the Weill lawn, where there was access to food trucks and chance to chat with members of this sterling orchestra.







Events Calendar

CHORAL AND VOCAL
Cantiamo Sonoma
Sunday, June 8, 2025
4:00 PM - Santa Rosa
Carol Menke, director
Music of Lassus, Byrd, Jacob Handl, Rheinberger, Stanford, Erik Essenvalds, Kim André Arneson, Elaine Hagenberg, Moses Hogan and Dan Forest $20 at the door; wine reception to follow...
Details

SYMPHONY
Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Orchestra
Saturday, June 14, 2025
7:00 PM - Rohnert Park
Jaco Wong, conductor
Bizet: Selections from the opera "Carmen", Suites Numbers 1 and 2; Dvorák: Symphony in E Minor, Op. 95 (No. 9, "From the New World"); Juan Pablo Contreras: Mariachitlán...
Details

CHAMBER
The 222
Saturday, June 14, 2025
7:00 PM - Healdsburg
Gary McLaughlin, violin; Rose McCoy, piano
Telemann: Fantasias (2); Chopin: Polonaise; Debussy: Prelude; Brahms: G Major Sonata, Op. 78 Admission is $20...
Details

CHAMBER
Valley of the Moon Music Festival
Saturday, July 12, 2025
4:00 PM - Sonoma
Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, Directors; performers TBA
Music of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Bach Tickets are $45; patio reception to follow ...
Details

CHAMBER
Valley of the Moon Music Festival
Saturday, July 12, 2025
2:30 PM - Sonoma
Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, Directors
Blattner Series Lecture. Speaker TBA Free to VOM Festival ticket holders...
Details

CHAMBER
Valley of the Moon Music Festival
Sunday, July 13, 2025
4:00 PM - Sonoma
Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, Directors. Performers TBA
Wagner and the French. Music of Chausson, Debussy and Wagner. Program TBA Tickets are $45...
Details

OPERA
Mendocino Music Festival
Friday, July 18, 2025
7:30 PM - Mendocino
Ryan Murray, conductor. Performers TBA
Donizetti: opera "Don Pasquale" With Supertitles; tickets $15-$65...
Details

RECITAL
Mendocino Music Festival
Saturday, July 19, 2025
2:30 PM - Mendocino
Rachel Breen, piano
Etudes TBA; Bull: Fantasia on Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La; Stravinsky Trois Mouvements de Petruahka Tickers $15 to 40...
Details

CHAMBER
Valley of the Moon Music Festival
Saturday, July 19, 2025
4:00 PM - Sonoma
Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, Directors. Performers TBA
Nadia Boulanger. Music of Fauré, Stravinsky and Piazzolla Tickets bare $45...
Details

OTHER
Valley of the Moon Music Festival
Saturday, July 19, 2025
2:30 PM - Sonoma
Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, Directors. Speaker TBA
Blattner Series Lecture. Admission is free for VOM Festival ticket holders...
Details