By Dana Ames
The Ukiah Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of this season, “Suite Serenade”, will be presented at Mendocino College Center Theater on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. For the second time, guest conductor Dr. Richard Loheyde of Sonoma County will lead the Orchestra. Oboists Beth Aiken and Laura Reynolds are the featured soloists. On the program are orchestral works by Holst, Albinoni and Mexican-American composer Jose Elizondo, along with Barber’s Canzonetta for Oboe and String Orchestra, and the Concerto for Two Oboes by Albinoni. This selection of works serenades the listener with a range of musical delights, from dynamic and energetic dance styles and folk idioms to the thoughtful and reflective, and returning to one of the sparkling gems of the Baroque solo repertoire.
Beth Aiken is well known to music lovers in Mendocino and Lake Counties, having lived in Lake County for more than 40 years. She taught music in Lake County schools and has appeared numerous times with the Ukiah Symphony and as soloist and chamber music performer in multiple venues locally, often with her keyboardist husband, Tom. When looking for an oboe teacher more than 20 years ago, Laura Reynolds was recommended to her, and they quickly became friends, playing music together and enjoying other fun activities. Laura serves as Principal Oboist in the Santa Rosa Symphony and the California Symphony, and has performed with symphonies and chamber music ensembles throughout California.
Commenting on this performance, Beth remarks, “It was performing Holst’s St Paul’s Suite when I was young that was a major inspiration for me to play larger pieces and perform in an orchestral setting. And playing as one of the soloists on the Double Concerto by Albinoni with Laura is such an honor, and very special because Albinoni was the first Italian composer to write concertos for the oboe. It’s really fun to play! And it’s a real privilege and joy to be performing with the Ukiah Symphony, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of performing for many years. In addition, playing under the direction of Richard Loheyde has been a pleasure and a great experience.” Laura is excited about the opportunity to perform the lively Albinoni concerto with her friend, and promises “the sound of the two oboes together will not disappoint!” Of the more contemplative Barber piece, she relates, “I have long been aware of and have wanted to play it, and I am very much looking forward to sharing it with the audience. Barber wrote many lovely slow solos for the oboe, and this Canzonetta has the same quality.”
Richard Loheyde has been active on the Sonoma County music scene for more than a dozen years, with a career which began in Massachusetts and has included conducting experience with university and civic orchestras around the country. In fact, he recalls his first appointment was Music Director of the Heartland Philharmonic in Omaha, Nebraska, so he began his professional life working with a community orchestra. Of the opportunity to work with the Ukiah Symphony, he enthuses, “It has been such a wonderful experience making music with these thoughtful and talented musicians of the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra. It is an absolute pleasure to work with such eager, energetic, and committed musicians. They are so very kind, they even pretend to laugh at my jokes!” Richard mentions that in conducting many of the Santa Rosa Symphony Family Concerts he has been able to collaborate often with Laura Reynolds. “Laura has such a beautiful sound and artistry that I guarantee will be a real treat for our audience.”
Regarding the works in this program, Loheyde relates, “What makes this program such a treat to conduct is that there is just so much exhilarating dance music and folk rhythmic elements. In Holst’s iconic St Paul’s Suite, the composer expertly utilizes a jig and an English folk dance, the Dargason, while weaving in the melody of “Greensleeves”. In the beautiful Serenade for Strings, Dvorak incorporates many Bohemian folk dance rhythms; while not directly quoting folk songs, he utilizes the traditional folk dance styles.” On a personal note, Richard remarks, “The Dvorak Serenade was one of the very first handful of compact discs my family bought, gosh, probably around 1985, and it seems we would listen to this piece at dinner every night. It was also one of the very first pieces I ever conducted as a young student conductor. So, this remarkable work has a very special place my heart, and not just because it is one of the most stunningly beautiful pieces ever written.”
Last, but certainly not least, the Ukiah Symphony has the terrific opportunity to present a work by a living composer who enjoys interacting with the performing groups who present his music. Loheyde has been in contact with Jose Elizondo, composer of Estampas Mexicanas, which is also a folk dance- and rhythm-inspired work. The composer relates that the piece was originally written as an assignment for a university class while he was actually studying engineering at MIT. It premiered at an outdoor concert presented by the San Jose Symphony and has been performed in more than 300 concerts given by orchestras around the world. Elizondo told Loheyde, “”Estampas Mexicanas was my first composition, and as such, it holds a very special place in my heart. It’s a very simple and straight-forward piece, but in it you can already spot my love for melody, shifting meter and dance rhythms that have become an integral part of my compositional style in the past decades.”
Tickets for this Ukiah Symphony Orchestra concert are available at ukiahsymphony.org, or at the door. Come and be warmed this mid-winter with the joy of a live performance of a very impressive suite of musical works.
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