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South Bay classical music lovers have a busy weekend ahead with two big music events that should keep them humming and toe-tapping well into next week.
Santa Clara University's New Music Festival kicks off Feb. 26, with a concert of works by student composers from the university. The festival continues Feb. 28 and March 1, with performances featuring the music of eminent composer Alvin Singleton.
Singleton's music is known for blending modern classical sounds with jazz influences. He is a prolific composer whose diverse body of works includes everything from instrumental solos to orchestral works to pieces written for the theater, and a similarly eclectic roster of prestigious music groups of every size—from l'Orchestre de Paris to the Kronos Quartet—has performed Singleton's works. Bay Area audiences may also know Singleton's music from the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz and the Other Minds festival in San Francisco.
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| Alvin Singleton |
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The March 1 concert marks the world premiere of Singleton's new work for piano and percussion, written for Santa Clara University piano professor Teresa McCollough. That performance will also feature works by California composers Gianna Abondolo, Dan Becker, Ann Callaway, David Conte, April Mok, Paul Nauert, Pat Plude, Pam Quist and Irene Sazer.
Midwinter Symphonies
While Santa Clara University concentrates on the new, Symphony San Jose Silicon Valley offers something old and something new on March 1 with its "Midwinter Symphonies" program led by guest conductor Yasuo Shinozaki, a native of Japan who is currently the assistant conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
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| Yasuo Shinozaki |
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The program has something of an international flavor, featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 8, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 in D Major and Japanese composer Karen Tanaka's Guardian Angel.
Tanaka's work, which takes its inspiration from a passage from Exodus in the Old Testament, had its world premiere in 2000 with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Shinozaki conducted the Sibelius piece for the prestigious International Sibelius Conducting Competition in Helsinki, Finland, where he won second place.
In addition to conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in regional concerts, Shinozaki lends his talents to the symphony's educational outreach performances and community concerts.
The New Music Festival takes place Feb. 26March 1 at Santa Clara University. Call 408.554.4429. Symphony San Jose Silicon Valley performs March 1 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, call 408.288.2800.
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