Faces in the Orchestra

When I interviewed Michael Nowak for Moebius over a year ago (the interview that’s been serialized for “Classics in the Cohan” programs this season), we had a brief conversation about moving around, living in one place versus several, etc. I remarked that even after six years, I still felt “new to the area.” Mike replied, “yeah, six years; you’re still new.”

I’ve led a fairly peripatetic life (nine locations), but in thinking about it, I saw that I haven’t always been so keen to move around. For example, in Seattle, I lived in the same apartment for eight years. (I loved that place!) I realized that perhaps I’ve been following Holly Golightly’s advice: when you find a place where you and things go together, buy some furniture and give the cat a name.

Many members of the SLO Symphony must have come to this same realization at some point in the past. So, on the suggestion of Quin Hauss, and as a corollary to Mike’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the blog will feature a series of profiles honoring Symphony members who’ve played with the orchestra for twenty-five years or more. First up: Barbara Blanke and Pat Lamprecht.

Barbara Blanke
Barbara’s primary instrument is violin, though she also plays guitar and piano, mostly for children. She joined the Symphony in 1982 after a neighbor brought over the Tribune to show her a two-line advertisement with audition information.

Barbara recalls those days:

“I had lived in SLO for one and 1/2 years and did not know there was a symphony. I had played in the Bay Area for the San Jose Light Opera and various community groups and really missed not having a musical home in SLO.”

Barbara has “so many!” fond memories of her time with the orchestra, and here are just a few: “Michael's audition was so memorable! Since I was a music major and loved conducting, his style and energy was awesome.” She enjoyed being on the Symphony Board for three years as the orchestra representative, and she also loved “assisting with the start up and initial research for Everyday Etudes,” describing the experience as “so much fun to be a part of.” Barbara holds out “hope that there will be classical music lovers in our future.”

Here’s the Everyday Etudes video, in which Barbara is featured:



Barbara describes the Carnegie Hall and Australia tours as “incredible.” On Carnegie Hall: “We played and then embarked on a midnight cruise around the New York skyline. As we circled the Statue of Liberty about thirty of us out on the ‘cold’ bow of the boat simultaneously broke into song, ‘God Bless America.’ This still gives me chills thinking about that night!” On Sydney: “I loved going to the zoo with Mike, Suzette and Julia and other orchestra friends in Australia. Any time to have real-life time with my musician friends on a different level is what life is all about!”

Barbara is optimistic about the future of the Symphony: “We are so lucky to have Sandi and the incredible, incredible staff at the Symphony office. They are what keeps the heart beating and they do it with such a flair!”

She also has some advice on how to keep music alive in our community: “If all musicians commit to give time and/or money and believe in the music that we all love, the symphony will thrive. Build relationships and give anything you can and classical music will be an important part of San Luis Obispo forever!”

The picture posted above is of Barbara and her husband Dan on the day of her doctoral defense.

Pat Lamprecht
Pat is a longtime member of the viola section, and she also performs in the alto section of the Vocal Arts Ensemble, directed by her husband Gary.

Pat recalls her early days with the Symphony:

“I joined the symphony viola section in 1972 as a newlywed. Clif Swanson was the director at that time and we performed at the old Cuesta Auditorium. The members of the orchestra were very kind to both Gary and me and made us feel very welcome to this community after we had left the Los Angeles area. I have played with the orchestra most of the years since then, only taking time off to have babies, for the most part.”

Ed Lowman was the orchestra manager during this time, and he called Pat to play viola only after she’d had time to recover from having her twins, Amber and Carey, and later, son Darby.

Pat recalls some fun times commuting: “Ed Harris (who still plays bass in the symphony) and I would carpool to rehearsal from Cayucos in his huge Buick -- top down, lots of chrome and gigantic fins -- what a ride!”

Pat sums up her experience with the SLO Symphony: “It has been great pleasure for me to have had both of my daughters (violin and oboe) and husband (rookie percussion) play in the orchestra with me at various times over the years. I know that our symphony will continue to grow and flourish, even in uncertain economic times. I am thankful for the gift of music I receive each time I am allowed to be a part of our symphony. There is no better seat in the hall than where the violas sit.”

And there’s no better seat onstage than the one next to Pat Lamprecht.

Stay tuned for more profiles.
Best, DH

Tickets for Symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sale February 5th

On Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 2 pm, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, under the direction of Michael Nowak, will make their debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Tickets for this landmark event will go on sale TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH beginning at 10 am online at www.ticketmaster.com and locally through Gulliver’s Travel in San Luis Obispo (details below.)

The concert will showcase new music by Los Osos, California composer Dr. Craig H. Russell and will feature special guest artists performing with the orchestra in three different Russell compositions: Concierto Romántico, a guitar concerto featuring Spanish guitarist José María Gallardo del Rey; Rhapsody for Horn and Orchestra with acclaimed French horn virtuoso Richard Todd and Ecos armónicos with violinist Kathleen Lenski (premiered at Mission San Luis Obispo on January 12th.)

Tickets and complete travel packages to Los Angeles for the concert, including transportation, lodging, meals and extras, are available locally through Gulliver’s Travel in San Luis Obispo by calling (805) 541-4141. Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (866) 448-7849 or (213) 480-3232.

Take a look at who's talking about us in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Blog!

Music at the Mission Premiere

On Saturday, January 12th, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was filled to capacity for the first San Luis Obispo Symphony concert there in over fifteen years. The reason? The world premiere of Craig Russell's Ecos armónicos. (seen in rehearsal at the Mission on the right) Commissioned by conductor Michael Nowak and written especially for violinist Kathleen Lenski, the piece will be presented at Walt Disney Concert Hall later this year (more on that later!)

For those of you who may have missed the concert, check out the review below by Jay and Marisa Waddell. You can also check out the pre-concert article about Craig Russell and Ecos armónicos, in The San Luis Obispo Tribune from January 10th by clicking here.

And please don't forget to come back often to the "real. live. music." blog for Symphony news, thoughts, reviews and more about our debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 8, 2008.

Symphony Chamber Concert Premiers New Russell Composition
By Jay and Marisa Waddell

An enthusiastic audience enjoyed a special concert by the San Luis Obispo Symphony Chamber Orchestra at a packed Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Saturday, January 12, 2008. Titled “Music at the Mission,” the program featured violin soloist Kathleen Lenski performing Ecos armónicos, a new composition by Dr. Craig Russell; The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi; and Battalia (the Battle) by Heinrich Biber. The beautiful mission church, with its gorgeously restored interior, trompe l’œil effects and lively auditory quality, was a perfect place to enjoy this fine concert. Conductor and Artistic Director Michael Nowak’s programming choices were complementary to each other and well suited to the mission setting. Russell’s Ecos armónicos employed thematic ideas from the mission period of Mexico and California. The other two works were European pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Symphony Chamber Orchestra can be proud of their highly capable presentation of the diverse and challenging pieces. The string players are led by professional and highly competent section leaders who help to unify their sections, playing responsively to Michael Nowak’s knowledgeable and well-prepared conducting. Kathleeen Lenski, an internationally recognized violinist and a SLO County community treasure in her own right, gave us lovely soaring melodies and technically inspiring passages as featured soloist in two of the evening’s pieces: Ecos armónicos, the new work by musicologist and educator Russell, and Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

The concert opened with Biber’s Battalia, a programmatic composition in eight short movements, written in 1673. It began with a coordinated and rich string ensemble sound. Then, in a manner rare for its time, the composer had the musicians use numerous unusual devices to create the effects and sounds of an army being assembled and trained. The violinists actually tramped their feet briefly to simulate marching. There were the sounds of fencing and cavalry practice. Dissonances, pounding on strings with overturned bows, and over-layering of folksongs, represented a drunken evening of singing and revelry among the soldiers. At one point, the bass viol had aluminum foil placed in the strings to imitate a snare drum to accompany the principal violin sounding as a fife. Forceful plucking on the strings made the sounds of cannon. Audience members laughed aloud as these effects were carried off with cheerful enthusiasm by our musicians. Finally, beginning with descending melodic lines, in statements and responses between the higher and lower strings, the last movement reminded us of the tragic losses in war. This performance was most entertaining, but could have had tighter ensemble playing, with more definitive starts and stops.

Dr. Russell’s new work, Ecos armónicos (Harmonic echoes), written specifically to feature violinist Kathleen Lenski, had its origins in Russell’s study of music written by monks at the early Spanish colonial missions in Mexico and California. The piece includes passages that feature Lenski’s preferred mode: to make her violin sing. In six movements, it outlines some of the activities of a mission day, including worship, meditation, marching and celebration. Many of the melodies and the themes used and developed by Russell were found during his deep and dedicated research in mission libraries, where he discovered the music of a number of masses and other forgotten manuscripts. The opening passage, taken from the Introit of a Mass, uses the violins to whisper a melancholy and beautiful “Gaudeamus” theme. Low strings fill in the bottom and soar louder in the “Alleluia” section, as if the sun was dispersing a fog. A Swiss march was included, impulsive and jaunty, with bouncing bow effects from Lenski. Russell’s occasional modern harmonies, nicely voiced and resolved, reminded us that this melodious and pleasing work is contemporary. Lenski pulled a high and singing cadenza off of her fine, historic Guadagnini violin in a tocatta section. Then a peaceful O que suave (O how gentle!), a popular song of the mission period, preceded the closing Spanish-sounding Fandango. One could almost hear castanets in the Fandango’s rhythmic patterns in the strings while Lenski’s violin yielded Vivaldi-like flourishes over the orchestra’s pulse. Immediately after the last note, the audience rose and applauded enthusiastically. Russell was called to the front to take bows with the soloist while audience members in the front rows showered roses on the musicians. The capricious Russell celebrated the moment by catching a rose and offering it to Lenski, then caught another and placed it between his teeth. Cheers and laughter rose simultaneously.

In Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the orchestra members had a chance to show their strengths. The tempos were up where they belonged and the players rose to the challenge. All the effects of cheery birds, languorous heat, thunderstorms, and dry, icy cold were played with good accuracy, speed, and energy. The audience had the satisfaction of hearing a familiar piece well played. Concert master Pam Dassenko played many duets with Lenski and nailed them admirably well. Her bird chirps in the first movement of Spring were right on. Principal cellist Nancy Nagano also was most reliable and frequently featured in a nearly perfect performance. Harpsichordist Barbara Hoff was solid, providing a subdued but vital backbone in the continuo part. Principal violist David Hennessee also had first rate moments. The highlight of Lenski’s solos was the Allegro non molto in the first movement of the Winter concerto. She was precise and drove it like she was driving a Ferrari.

After the concert, several musicians remarked that they love the Vivaldi. Over all, they played together, and on note. One audience person asked; “How can you not be happy listening to this music?” Other comments included; “Thrilling!” Exciting!” In spite of the rare missed note or trouble with togetherness, the evening was a fine success for the musicians as well as the audience.

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