Barbara Shuler, Intermezzo: Looking at the upcoming events and seasons

Labor Day is here. Time to relax, especially if you have been traveling, attending festivals and Classic Car Week events, watching political conventions, and other hectic summertime activities. It gets busy this time of year. As we shift to fall rhythms, in this column we’ll look at the upcoming 2024-2025 music seasons of three of our major presenters, along with September programs you might be interested in attending.

Monterey Symphony

The Monterey Symphony announced single-tickets sales this month for its new season of five programs at Carmel’s Sunset Center. Music director Jayce Ogren says, “These concerts are filled with audience favorites that show the full power and brilliance of the Monterey Symphony. From Dvořák’s New World Symphony to Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 to Respighi’s The Pines of Rome, each concert is anchored by a masterpiece that is sure to leave you feeling mesmerized and inspired.”

Ogren has invited another roster of excellent soloists to join the ensemble. He says, “We’ll celebrate 100 years of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with pianist Adam Golka, collaborate with the dynamic Joyce Yang on Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and feature Simone Porter in her triumphant return to the Monterey Symphony with Beethoven’s heroic Violin Concerto.”

The Symphony season begins at Carmel’s Outdoor Forest Theater with “Love Letter to Hollywood, Vol. 2,” on Oct. 15 and 16 at 6:30 p.m. Associate conductor Brad Hogarth conducts the orchestra in an exciting program of film music in this beloved Carmel setting, with vocal solos by locally renowned singer Malinda DeRouen.

For music and ticketing details see www.montereysymphony.org/current-season/

Chamber Music Monterey Bay

Chamber Music Monterey Bay dedicates its 2024-2025 season to the memory of internationally acclaimed artist Emile Norman, a longtime supporter of our region’s cultural community, whose trust has made a generous $50,000 donation to the organization. Norman’s passion for the arts and music is legendary and continues long after his death.

On Nov. 9, the Pacifica Quartet will present works by Samuel Barber, George Crumb and Antonín Dvořák. Jan.11, the Isidore Quartet plays pieces by Erwin Schulhoff, Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriella Smith and Maurice Ravel. On Feb. 22, the Juilliard Quartet showcases compositions by Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček and Beethoven. On April 5, rising-star Viano Quartet performs works by Haydn, Florence Price, Kevin Lau, Schubert and Sergei Prokofiev. The season closes May 3 with the Catalyst Quartet and clarinetist Todd Palmer featuring Astor Piazzolla’s Suite del Ángel, David Bruce’s Gumboots, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Quintet in F-sharp Minor for Clarinet and Strings.

For tickets and more on the 2024-2025 programs see www.chambermusicmontereybay.org/concerts. Enjoy a 30-minute preconcert talk at 6:30 p.m. for insights into the evening’s program. All performances take place at Sunset Center. Call (831) 625-2212 for additional information.

Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra

John Anderson, music director and founder of Ensemble Monterey, has announced that this will be his final season as its conductor, opening the way for new direction and ideas. Wow! It’s hard to imagine the orchestra without the exceptional skill, vision and leadership of this wonderful conductor. He and his wife, choral director Cheryl Anderson, have together created a unique and exemplary legacy for Ensemble Monterey spanning 32 seasons, counting the 2024-2025 Season of Dreams concerts.

John Anderson of Ensemble Monterey. (Courtesy photo)

“It’s time for new ideas and even newer music,” he says. “This Season of Dreams is a season of my own personal dream compositions: either works from our past, which I must do again, or my own `dream compositions’ that we haven’t had a chance to perform but which I must do before my final bow.”

The first program takes place Sept. 15 with “A Dream of Flight,” with Joseph Schwantner’s “Sparrows” the centerpiece, a major 20th-century composition for solo soprano sung by Lori Schulman.. Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, along with works by Lou Harrison and Gabrielle Pierne, will also be on this program.

Nov. 3 brings “A Dream Fondly Remembered” of works from their repertoire performed long ago to which they say a sentimental goodbye. Górecki’s “Little Requiem for a Polka,” a piece by old friend Stephen Tosh, Edgard Varèse’s “Octandre,” and Charles Ives’s “The Unanswered Question.’ On Jan. 25, “A Sweet Dream” brings Brahms’s Second Serenade, Gustav Holst’s “Saint Paul’s Suite,” and Jean Françaix’s “9 Pièces Charactéristiques.”

The March 25 concert is “A Dream of Tomorrow,” featuring works from young, emerging composers, including Christopher Cerrone’s “The Pieces That Fall to Earth.” Vocal ensemble Cantiamo! joins the orchestra to perform Jocelyn Hagen’s “The Notebooks of Leonardo de Vinci,” a revolutionary new multi-media work rapidly gaining international fame. It will be conducted by Cheryl Anderson.

Performances take place in Monterey at the First Presbyterian Church Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. and in Santa Cruz at the Peace United Church of Christ Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. For tickets and more information see www.ensemblemonterey.org/  or call (831) 333-1283.

Monterey County Pops! Labor Day Concert

The Monterey County Pops! Labor Day program takes place on the lawn of Seaside’s City Hall and is free to the public. It is also livestreamed on Comcast Channel 24 from www.montereycountypops.org. The concert starts at 1 p.m. with a performance by the Monterey Peninsula Gospel Community Choir led by John L. Nash, Jr. The orchestra’s program starts at 2 p.m. and features vocalist Brenda Thomas as soloist.  Eliodoro Vallecillo, principal horn, and his four-piece Mexican Regional Band, 4to Prestigio will also be showcased during this concert. During his teenage years, he was featured as a soloist on NPR’s From the Top twice and has appeared on televised programs, including on PBS from Carnegie Hall in New York.

Musically Yours, Volume Two! with Neiman and Reilly

The Sandbox in Sand City features violinist Nicola Reilly and pianist James Neiman for a charming evening of classical music. The two will present a program of works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, ending with Schumann’s much-loved piano quintet, joined by Amalia Diaz, Bryan Brash, and Michelle Djokic. Join the fun Sept. 13 from 7-9 p.m. For tickets see www.sandboxsandcity.com/events. This delightful setting sells out fast, so best get your seats early.