One
night you’ll get virtuoso mariachi music, another night it’ll
be the Crouching Tiger Concerto while a screen shows the Ang Lee
movie. After
a half century, the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) continues
to explore
new musical frontiers, mixing innovative contemporary music with
pieces from its classical repertoire.
“We always liked to call ourselves innovative,” says Thomas
Nee, a professor emeritus of music, who directed the LJS&C from
1967 to 1998. “That was our main strength, contemporary music
and performance. We always emphasized doing off-beat stuff.”
LJS&C began in 1964 when the La Jolla Civic
Orchestra partnered with the UCSD Music Department along with its
sister organization,
the La Jolla Symphony Chorus. This partnership gave birth to
the La Jolla Civic-University Symphony Orchestra, which eventually
grew into
a 110-person orchestra and 130-person chorus that includes UCSD
students. About 50 students each year have the opportunity to be part of
the ensemble and, through the Tom Nee Commission, the group
performs
the compositions
of UCSD music graduate students. “It is an excellent learning and performance venue for music students,” says Barbara Peisch, ’80, editor of the LJC&S newsletter. “The
organization has
a focus on performing new and rarely
heard pieces.”
During this year’s concert season,
titled The Many Faces of Music, the LJS&C features former music
director Harvey Sollberger and choral director David Chase. In February,
flautist and composer John Fonville will lead the Mixed Melodies
program, featuring Brahms and Beethoven. In May, Steven Schick will
conduct Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Concerto while scenes from
the Ang Lee film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, are screened. Jeff Nevin, Ph.D. ’98, the first winner
of the Tom Nee Commission, opened the season with classic pieces
by Mexican composers and conducted the debut
of his song cycle based on the works of
poet Alberto Blanco.  — Marnette Federis, ’06 |
