By Sarah Monson
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many UCLA students scatter and flee upon graduation in search of
a better life, cheaper rent and less road rage-induced drivers. But
some, such as UCLA alumnus Peter Rutenberg, find that Los Angeles
provides everything they need.
“I have lived within a10-mile radius my entire
life,” said Rutenberg in a recent phone interview.
A composer, record producer and conductor of the Los Angeles
Chamber Singers and Cappella, Rutenberg wears many hats. He has
come a long way from his time spent at UCLA. Rehashing old college
memories, Rutenberg remembers his final quarter at UCLA, where he
graduated with a degree in music in 1973.
“I started out in Letters and Sciences, and when I
switched to Fine Arts no one seemed to notice. The department
counselor informed me that I needed more classes to graduate. I had
to take eight courses to graduate on time and I had five take-home
finals.”
It’s been 30 years and he still doesn’t find that
funny.
After performing with professional singers throughout the
’80s, Rutenberg decided to form a singing group. “We
kidded ourselves that we should do something more,” he
said.
This kidding around resulted in the inception of The L.A.
Chamber Singers and Cappella, which started with three founding
members, and now boasts a roster of forty, all under the conducting
hand of Rutenberg.
Primarily focusing on a cappella pieces, Rutenberg said,
“One of the things that we try to do is focus on (this)
tradition,” he said. “We rarely perform with
instruments.”
While the usual number of season performances is limited to
three or four, the 25 members that make up the L.A. Chamber Singers
have given seven performances this season. Consisting of only
professional singers, and with little time allotted for rehearsal,
this group tackles some heavy material in its songs.
For the final performances of the season, “A Twentieth
Century Retrospective,” Rutenberg will be conducting two
pieces, Healey Willan’s “Requiem” and Zoltan
Kodaly’s “Missa Brevis.” Both works were composed
during tumultuous periods of history, during the first and second
World Wars, respectively.
“Healey Willan is obscure, although he shouldn’t
be,” Rutenberg said. “He’s one of the composers
on my must-do list.”
Willan’s “Requiem,” scored for a double chorus
and solo quartet, was composed in 1918, and remains unfinished to
this day, as he died before its completion. And the rarely
performed “Missa Brevis” merges baroque fanfares and
Hungarian folk tunes that will be performed with an organ
accompaniment.
Rutenberg embraces many styles of music, priding himself on
keeping the music in line with the style in which it is
composed.
“When we perform an African American spiritual,” he
said. “It has a different sensation about it. It’s got
to have the right flavor.”
Upon further explanation, Rutenberg said, “The singers can
sit there with music in front of them in traditional classical
pieces and it will reach the listener’s ears well. Gospel, on
the other hand, is different. If the music is stopping outside the
mouth, it’s not going to communicate what it’s supposed
to do, so we improvise vocally and embellish a little
bit.”
This multi-talented group has released two critically acclaimed
CDs under Rutenberg’s own label, RCM records. These are
“Romancero Gitano,” which features choral works by
chiefly American composers, and “Padilla: Music of the
Mexican Baroque,” which features the music of Juan Gutierrez
de Padilla.
Having lived in Los Angeles all his life, Rutenberg has also
scored television series in the past, as well as being the head of
production at a local radio station.
Each spring, auditions are held for admission into the L.A.
Chamber Singers. It’s not easy though, with 50 to 60 percent
of the group coming back year after year. This doesn’t leave
much room for newcomers, but talented and driven performers are
always welcomed.
Rutenberg is busy finalizing program content for next season,
and it sounds like it will be as innovative and unique as the
conductor himself.
“We’re going to have an interesting collection of
music never heard in L.A.,” he said.
It’s not hard to see that Rutenberg is very proud of his
group.
“There is a level of spiritual connection and musical
connection that everybody in the group experiences, and that
transfers to the audience.”
And as a conductor, he strives to keep the original message of
the text evident
“I enjoy helping the singers realize the composers’
intention as devotedly and authentically as possible,” he
said.
So what can a music lover expect from the final performances of
the season?
“You’ll get something extra,” he said.
“I’d be very surprised if a lot of people don’t
get a transformation from the music.”
MUSIC: The Los Angeles Chamber Singers and Cappella will be
performing Saturday, June 3, at 8 p.m. at the Church of the Lighted
Window in La Canada-Flintridge, and will also be performing on
Sunday, June 4, at 5 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in the
Wilshire Center District. Admission is $15, students and seniors
are $10. For more information and tickets, call (310) 575-9790.