For visiting director of orchestral studies Neal Stulberg,
tonight marks not only his first performance as the conductor of
the UCLA Philharmonia, but also the beginning of an era of expanded
opportunities for the long-running ensemble.
Stulberg, who has previously led numerous professional
orchestras throughout the world, will conduct the 70-member
ensemble in three pieces tonight at 8 in Schoenberg Hall. The
program will include Toru Takemitsu’s “Ceremonial: An
Autumn Ode,” Dvorak’s “Concerto for Cello in B
minor,” and Prokofiev’s “Symphony No.
5.”
The works are drawn from three different generations and
cultures, and each offers a unique opportunity for the Philharmonia
to establish a connection with audience members and engage them in
the music.
“I know everyone who attends (the performance) will turn
away inspired and excited about the quality of the orchestras and
the direction that the Philharmonia is headed,” Stulberg
said.
“I hope for it to become a resource for the entire UCLA
community, including everyone on campus and the larger community as
well.”
The most popular piece tonight, the Dvorak cello concerto, is
considered by some of the performers to be the greatest cello
concerto ever written. The performance will feature a solo by
Antonio Lysy, a world-renowned cello player and UCLA faculty member
in the music department.
Lysy calls the concerto “a real masterpiece,” one
that engages each member of the orchestra with its all-inclusive
nature, and allows the orchestra as a whole to showcase its talent
behind the soloist rather than simply provide background music.
Lysy also echoes Stulberg’s vision of the
Philharmonia’s potential to present audiences with
performances unlike those they would ordinarily see from a chamber
orchestra, as well as to exceed the expectations of a college
orchestra.
“With youth orchestras, there’s something very fresh
and motivating with the performance,” Lysy said. “They
pull out all the stops for you. With professionals, they are just
doing their jobs and (the performance) can be a little bit
flat.”
The most surprising piece is likely that by modern Japanese
composer Takemitsu, which was written in 1992 and features Kazuyuki
Kawata as soloist on the sho, an instrument from ancient Japanese
culture. Although an unusual piece for a chamber orchestra,
combining this work with such pieces as Prokofiev’s 1944
symphony and Dvorak’s concerto from the 1890s should help
establish Stulberg’s goal of keeping the Philharmonia’s
programs unpredictable and exciting.
“The performance will give audiences good music from the
past (and) good music from the present; very familiar music as well
as music no one has heard before,” Stulberg said.
As a part of the Philharmonia’s shift in instruction and
its new goals, Stulberg made efforts in the beginning of the year
to boost campus involvement with the orchestra, primarily by
opening up positions in the ensemble to the entire student
body.
Together with members of the orchestra representative committee,
he began auditioning any students who showed interest in playing,
regardless of their major. The end result is a diverse group of
young musicians from both the undergraduate and graduate student
bodies.
Third-year flute performance student Penelope Turgeon, a member
of the orchestra representative committee as well as a flutist in
the Philharmonia, said that because anyone was welcome to audition,
the orchestra drew from a “bigger pool.”
“(It) was more competitive, which means that the ensemble
in the end is much better,” Turgeon said. “It’s
really exciting that we’re doing music that before we
couldn’t even think to achieve.”