The members of the UCLA Philharmonia better not get too
comfortable in their seats, because their new conductor wants them
to tackle all sorts of new venues outside of Scheonberg Hall.
“My goal is to represent UCLA in the wider community by
beginning to perform off the campus and be in the front and center
of orchestral life in Los Angeles,” said Neal Stulberg, the
new conductor and director of orchestral studies.
A Detroit native, Stulberg is a graduate of Harvard College, the
University of Michigan and the Juilliard School. Aside from his
critical acclaim as a pianist and violist, Stulberg has conducted
numerous orchestras across the United States and Europe, including
the debut of the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra, and served
as assistant conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonia. He is also
a recipient of the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts
Conductors Award, considered America’s most elite conducting
prize. During his time as a visiting lecturer for a graduate course
in the music department last year, his interest in UCLA’s
program was piqued.
Stulberg brings his enthusiasm to the orchestral program by
heading UCLA’s first orchestra committee, and brings a new
vision of the orchestra’s role in the arts. His ideas for the
orchestral program include a midnight performance in Royce Hall,
orchestral accompaniment to silent films and concerts in costume on
Halloween night.
“I would like the orchestra to expand its reach further
into the university community,” Stulberg said. “UCLA
has such a rich arts life with the theater, dance, visual arts and
film and television departments that it’s natural to me to
seek collaborations. Concerts in unusual formats would be
specifically geared for students and others on the
campus.”
Stulberg doesn’t shy away from unorthodox methods when it
comes to orchestra recruitment, either. For the first time this
year, the UCLA Symphony, another performing ensemble, will recruit
musicians from throughout the UCLA community, including students
not majoring in music.
“I really am excited about the idea of both orchestras
developing their own kinds of profiles,” Stulberg said.
“I can see a particular audience developing also from the
symphony orchestra because of participation from players outside of
the music department.”
Unconventionality, however, does not breed divergence, as
Stulberg also embraces traditional performance styles.
The Philharmonia’s first concert this quarter will feature
composer Takemitsu’s “Ceremonial: An Autumn Ode,”
featuring the ancient sho instrument; Dvorak’s Cello
Concerto; and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. The free concert is
in Schoenberg Theatre on Nov. 10. Winter quarter will bring an
all-star concert showcase for music-student soloists playing
movements of concertos, and the spring concert line-up includes a
collaboration between the Philharmonia and The Angeles Chorale at
the Royce Hall Opera Gala Concert.
“This fall’s Philharmonia program is a trajectory
that goes from a quiet blessing to a warm, enveloping virtuosity to
a contemporary large-scale symphonic expression ““ a blaze of
fireworks,” Stulberg said. “I’ve planned it as an
inaugural program to show the range of what the orchestra can
do.”
In addition, Stulberg introduced another idea of his, calling it
“an orchestral experience.” It would consist of a
weekend where the public would be invited to a behind-the-scenes
look into the process of orchestral music-making. Stulberg has
suggested inviting the public to rehearsals, hosting seminars, even
having food and themes.
“I want this to be an immersion experience into the art of
orchestra music making,” Stulberg said.
In his effort to freshen things up in the music department,
Stulberg breeds excitement while still maintaining a balance with
the orchestra’s more traditional performance goals.
“My goal is that the UCLA community begins to regard the
orchestra as it would one of our sports teams,” Stulberg
said. “Even if they don’t always know who we’re
playing, they know that we’re a team that’s always
winning.”