’Tis the Symphony: A Guide to the California Symphony Holiday Concerts

An animated holiday classic, a Grammy-winning choir, mulled wine & cocoa to sip at your seat… Get the scoop on what to expect when you come to one of the California Symphony’s holiday concerts.

There’s nothing quite like the buzzing atmosphere of the California Symphony’s holiday concerts, with the aroma of mulled wine in the hall, free activities in the lobby, and a program of music that’s geared to getting everyone into the holiday spirit.

’TIS THE SYMPHONY takes place Saturday, Dec. 22 at 4PM and 8PM at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, and whether you’re a regular or a first timer, we want you to feel welcome at the California Symphony, right here in Walnut Creek. Here’s a quick run down on what to expect for the holiday concerts.

Before the Show

Free, family-friendly fun starts in the lobby an hour before each performance.

Hot Cocoa and Mulled Wine in the Lobby

In addition to the usual selection of wines and sodas for sale in the lobby, hot cocoa with all your favorite toppings will be available at the Cocoa Bar. Meanwhile for those wanting to put a little more spirit into their season, mulled wine will also be available. (And if you’d like to get a head start on that festive feeling, check out California Symphony violist Catherine Matovich’s mulled wine recipe here.)

Pro tip: Save time at intermission by ordering your drinks in advance. Just flag down one of the gold vest-wearing, iPad-wielding members of the catering staff in the 2nd and 3rd floor lobbies before the performance to place your order.

Instrument Petting Zoo

The always-popular Instrument Petting Zoo is a place where you can touch, hold, and even try playing the different instruments in the orchestra. Try your hand at bowing a violin or a cello, or pucker up and try the trumpet or trombone. Find the petting zoo in the 3rd floor lobby.

Pro Tip: It’s not just for the kids.

Try a trombone… a violin, a cello, a flute, a clarinet and more at the Instrument Petting Zoo in the 3rd floor lobby.

Pick Up a Baton!

Step up to the conductor’s podium in the 2nd floor lobby, take up the baton and pretend you’re our guest conductor for the evening! Post your podium pictures to Facebook or Instagram and tag #CaliforniaSymphony for a chance to win tickets to our January performance, A TANGO WITH MOZART.

“The Snowman” Crafting & Coloring

Feeling crafty? Then come to the activity tables on the 2nd floor lobby for coloring, dot-to-dot, and snowman mask-making. Get creative at the table or pick up your free activity “Make & Take” packet to go.

The Performance

The Grammy-winning Pacific Boychoir Academy joins the full orchestra to perform holiday favorites as well as singing to the Oscar-nominated holiday classic, The Snowman, which is played on the big screen as the orchestra and choir perform music from the soundtrack live. To learn more about the Oakland-based Pacific Boychoir Academy—the only full-time boys’ chorus school on the west coast of North America—read profiles of Head Boy Cadence Strange and chorister Tavian Roberts on our blog. You can also go behind the scenes with video production technician Kim Rooker and read about how the orchestra stays in time with the movie.

Full details of the music will be in the free program book you’ll be handed as you enter the auditorium. The duration of each piece is also listed in the program, and you’ll find the words for the audience sing-along in the book too — so you can join in the singing with gusto!

The Program

California Symphony—Donato Cabrera, music director

Pacific Boychoir Academy—Andrew Brown, music director

Anderson—A Christmas Festival (6 minutes)

Regney/Shayne Baker—Do You Hear What I Hear? (3 minutes)

Children’s Christmas Medley (9 minutes)

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
I’m Gettin’ Nuttin’ for Christmas
All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)—Selections from The Nutcracker (24 minutes). Miniature Overture, Marche, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, Chinese Dance, Dance of the Reed Flutes, Waltz of the Flowers

— I N T E R M I S S I O N (20 minutes) —

Blake (b. 1938)—The Snowman (26 minutes) with the Pacific Boychior Academy

Audience sing-along

Deck the Hall (2 minutes)
Silent Night (3 minutes)
Jingle Bells (2 minutes)

Anderson—Sleigh Ride (2 minutes)

Pro-tip: You can listen to Music Director Donato Cabrera’s holiday program playlist on Spotify.

Questions?

Our online Guide for Newcomers has answers to all the FAQs we could think of about attending the Symphony for the first time, including what to wear (A: whatever you like), are phones allowed in the auditorium (A: yes, but in silent mode), and whether you can take your drink into the auditorium (A: absolutely!)

Whether you’re coming back for your 32nd year or joining us for the first time, we look forward to seeing you, and to sharing a holiday tradition with you. Thanks for coming to see the California Symphony—your resident professional orchestra that’s based right here in Walnut Creek!

’Tis the Symphony takes place Saturday, December 22 at 4:00PM and 8:00PM at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, with activities in the lobby starting an hour earlier, at 3:00PM and 7:00PM.

Tickets start at $42 for adults and $20 for students and are available at www.californiasymphony.org or by calling the Lesher Center at 925.943.7469.

11 Weird & Wonderful Versions of the Nutcracker

From Sesame Street to the Simpsons and rubber chickens, Tchaikovsky’s classic has been given some interesting treatments through the years. Here’s our pick of 11 of the best (and the worst.)

Spoiler alert: Yes, there are rubber chickens.

1. The Simpsons — Cause Christmas Eve is Here

“Why should I care it’s all humbug.” — Montgomery Burns

2. Sesame Street

Elmo gets down with Jamie Foxx for The Nutcracker Mash.

3. Walt Disney’s Fantasia

The classic 1940 Walt Disney film featured dancing animated fairies, fish, flowers, mushrooms and leaves. No actual nutcracker is ever seen in this version.

4. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Mackenzie Foy, Morgan Freeman, Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren star in Disney’s latest holiday film.

5. Pentatonix — Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Part of their 2014 holiday album, the a cappella quintet gave their signature treatment to the Nutcracker classic.

6. Barbie in the Nutcracker

Barbie plays the role of Clara. What else can we say?

7. Line Rider — Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

There’s something so satisfying about these Line Rider doodles, set to music. Which sledder will win — orange, blue, or green scarf?

8. Care Bears: The Nutcracker

Surprisingly, Rotten Tomatoes gives the Care Bears Nutcracker an audience score of 81%.

9. Royal Ballet — Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

As your reward for getting this far, here is Lauren Cuthbertson performing the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

10. Tetris

Tchaikovsky, distilled to 8-bit electronic noises. If you fall behind, the game nicely speeds up the music to throw you into panic.

11. TwoSet Violins

Australian YouTubers Brett Yang and Eddy Chen have given the rubber chicken treatment to Toto’s Africa and Mahler’s Fifth, and now Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker.

“The Nutcracker” is featured in the ‘Tis the Symphony holiday concerts, Saturday, December 22 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek.

Tickets start at $42 / $20 for kids and students under 25 with valid student I.D. at californiasymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Box Office at 925.943.SHOW.

Cadence Strange: Student in the Spotlight

Cadence Strange, 12, gets up at 5:30 a.m. to make the two-hour commute from Pittsburg by bus and BART to Oakland, where he attends the Pacific Boychoir Academy. In addition to taking regular classes, Cadence spends three hours a day studying music theory, learning to sight-read, and rehearsing choral works in Latin and German.

California Symphony Orchestra (CSO): What’s the best thing about being a student at the PBA?

Cadence Strange: There is so many wonderful things about being here at PBA! We get individual attention from teachers, I get to sing classical music, and I have made tons of friends here — the campus is so small you can’t miss anyone!

CSO: What’s the most fun or interesting performance you’ve ever sung at and why?

CS: The most interesting performance has to be Boris Gudonov with the San Francisco Symphony. We got to go on stage and act and sing; it was a semi-staged opera. Also, I got to one more language to add to my collection: Russian! We got to sing with a professional tenor; he and I stood next to each other and practice together — it was AMAZING.

CSO: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

CS: I’ve always been a fan of being in business, that might be something I’d like to explore. I’ve also thought about becoming an opera singer or maybe a NASCAR driver.

Read more about Cadence in this interview with the East Bay Times “Pittsburg Boy’s Voice is Opening Doors in the Music World”

The Pacific Boychoir Academy joins the California Symphony for the ’Tis the Symphony holiday concerts, Saturday, December 22, at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, where they will sing festive selections with the full orchestra and perform to the soundtrack of The Snowman as it plays on the big screen.

Tickets start at $42 / $20 for kids and students under 25 with valid student I.D. at californiasymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Box Office at 925.943.SHOW.

A Day in the Life: Chorister Tavian Roberts

Tavian Roberts, 12, is a student at the Pacific Boychoir Academy in Oakland, the only full-time boys’ chorus school on the west coast of North America. The choir school integrates a full academic curriculum with daily musical instruction for boys in grades 4–8. Tavian sings with the choir for the California Symphony’s ’Tis the Symphony holiday concerts, Saturday, Dec. 22, at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek.

California Symphony Orchestra: What’s a typical day like as a student at the Pacific Boychoir Academy?

I get to PBA on my bike in the morning and usually have a few minutes to talk to friends before the first bell. When the bell rings we dress the line, and then go to our first class. We have two academic classes before our first break where you get time to play tag or basketball and talk to friends. The school is pretty fluid because sometimes we have performances, but since everyone knows each other well, you flow naturally from one class to the next.

At lunchtime, if you forget your lunch the teachers will give you some snacks to tide you over. Everyone makes mistakes, and the teachers know that; they are very sympathetic.

After lunch its usually MTV — Musicianship, Theory, and Voice, or Be The Change. Theory class helps you expand your knowledge of music, to learn things you never knew before. Musicianship is a test of your inner ear, it helps you perfect things you already know. Be The Change teaches you how to be a part of a group; sometimes its hard to rely on others and this teaches you how to integrate with the group. PBA is very community-based, it’s one of the school’s strong points. After that period is music. Music is the most important time of our day, where we learn our repertoire. At the end of the day, we pack up our stuff whether its in the trough or our locker, and head home. Except for Fridays; I am part of the Cooking Club that meets after school on Fridays.

CSO: Do you play other musical instruments?

I’ve tried piano and guitar, but I chose my voice after I realized it’s the one instrument that I felt good working on. I like the way I sing!

CSO: What’s the best part of going to school at the Pacific Boychoir Academy?

The best thing about being a student at PBA is that it gives you the chance to be the best singer you can be. No matter where I go in life, these years will always be a big part of me. Singing is the the means to an end; the vehicle that lets you go on a journey to different countries and meet different people.

CSO: What’s the most memorable performance you’ve been a part of with the PBA?

The most interesting performance I’ve ever sung was on my very first tour in Oregon. We went to PicFest — a choral festival. There were so many concerts at that tour, it was so interesting to listen to their music and have them listen to ours. I feel proud about what we presented.

CSO: Any idea what you’d like to be when you grow up?

I would like to be a chef when I grow up. I’m not sure what kind of chef, or if I will have my own restaurant, but I have a passion for culinary things and I’d like to see how that goes.

The Pacific Boychoir Academy joins the California Symphony for the ’Tis the Symphony holiday concerts, Saturday, Dec. 22 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, where they will sing festive selections with the full orchestra and c

Tickets start at $42 / $20 for kids and students under 25 with valid student I.D. at californiasymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Box Office at 925.943.SHOW.

A Violist’s Mulled Wine Recipe

Rich, satisfying, and smooth. That’s not just the sound that California Symphony’s Catherine Matovich makes when she plays her viola. Here, Catherine shares her recipe for mulled wine—the perfect, warming, spiced beverage of the season.

What You’ll Need…

2 bottles of red wine, preferably Cabernet
1 bottle Muscat Canelli or similar wine
1 orange studded with 20 whole cloves
1/2 an entire nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup Grand Mariner + 3 tablespoons
Orange slices

Instructions

In a large, stain-proof kettle or soup caldron, simmer all ingredients. Can also be made in crockpot, set on low for minimum of 2 hours.

Ladle into handle-less tea mugs, drizzle a Grand Mariner floater, and garnish with orange slices.

Can be made up to 4 days in advance, minus the clove-studded orange.

Serves 8 true drinkers or 16 people who rarely imbibe.

By Catherine Matovich, viola

See Catherine on stage at the ’Tis the Symphony holiday concerts, Saturday, Dec. 22 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek—where you can also sip mulled wine, cocoa and other drinks at your seat.

Tickets start at $42 / $20 for kids and students under 25 with valid student I.D. at californiasymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Box Office at 925.943.SHOW.

Observing the WWI Armistice Centennial

Music Director Donato Cabrera writes from Linz, Austria, on a day commemorating the end of World War One.

The announcing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, was the occasion for large celebrations in the allied nations.

Today is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day — Veterans Day in the U.S.— commemorating the end of WWI, which ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month of the year. It was a devastating war and the world of classical music suffered greatly from this incredibly barbaric conflict.

It was not too long ago that every schoolchild in the U.S. recited John McCrae’s, In Flanders Fields, for Veteran’s Day:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

WWI Composers

George Butterworth was a promising English composer who was killed at the Battle of the Somme at the age of 31. His body was never found. His song-cycle, A Shropshire Lad, is probably his most famous composition:

Rudi Stephan was a promising German composer whose small body of work is also excellent and quite varied in genre. He died at the age of 28 in Tarnopol at the Galician Front. Here is a very compelling piece he wrote in 1910 called, Music for Orchestra:

There were many composers who survived WWI but who were deeply affected by it. Each movement of the incredible six-movement piano piece, Le Tombeau de Couperin, by Maurice Ravel is a remembrance of a friend who lost their life in WWI:

And in one of the greatest examples of creating opportunity out of a seemingly hopeless situation, the pianist Paul Wittgenstein — brother of famed philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein — lost his right arm in WWI. After the war, he spent the rest of his life commissioning the world’s greatest composers to write pieces for piano for the left hand. Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, Erich Korngold, Sergei Prokofiev, Franz Schmidt, and Richard Strauss, among others, all obliged but it is Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand that is the most famous:

The two pillars of English composition, Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams, both wrote works in memorium of the Great War. Vaughan Williams’s Symphony №3 is very touching and Elgar’s Cello Concerto has become one of the staples of the genre:

I’ve created a Spotify playlist as well:

https://bit.ly/DCWWI

ABOUT DONATO CABRERA

Donato Cabrera is the Music Director of the California Symphony and the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and served as the Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and the Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra from 2009-2016.

Since Cabrera’s appointment as Music Director of the California Symphony in 2013, the organization has reached new artistic heights by implementing innovative programming that emphasizes welcoming newcomers and loyalists alike, building on its reputation for championing music by living composers, and committing to programming music by women and people of color. With a recently extended contract through the 2022–23 season, Cabreracontinues to advise and oversee the Symphony’s music education programs and community engagement activities. Cabrera has also greatly changed the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s concertexperience by expanding the scope and breadth of its orchestral concerts. Cabrera has also reenergized the Youth Concert Series by creating an engaging and interactive curriculum-based concert experience.

In recent seasons, Cabrera has made impressive debuts with the National Symphony’s KC Jukebox at the Kennedy Center, Louisville Orchestra, Hartford Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, New West Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, and the Reno Philharmonic. In 2016, he led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in performances with Grammy Award-winning singer Lila Downs. Cabrera made his Carnegie Hall debut leading the world premiere of Mark Grey’s Ătash Sorushan with soprano, Jessica Rivera.

Awards and fellowships include a Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship at the SalzburgFestival and conducting the Nashville Symphony in the League of American Orchestra’sprestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview. Donato Cabrera was recognized by the Consulate-General of Mexico in San Francisco as a Luminary of the Friends of Mexico Honorary Committee, for his contributions to promoting and developing the presence of the Mexican community in the Bay Area.

Checking in with Composer-in-Residence Katherine Balch

Now entering the second year of her three year residency with the California Symphony, we connected with Katherine Balch to see what she’s been up to since we saw her at the May concert, and to find out how the concerto she’s writing for violinist Robyn Bollinger is progressing.

Robyn Bollinger and Katherine Balch enjoying the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the lawn at Tanglewood Music Center, where Katherine was a fellow this summer.

California Symphony Orchestra: What have you been up to since the premiere of your first piece with the California Symphony in May?

Katherine Balch: After an amazing week with the California Symphony, I had a fun time celebrating with the folks at Broadcast Music Inc., at the 66th Annual BMI Student Composer Awards ceremony in NYC, where I received an award for my orchestra piece, Leaf Fabric, written for the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (with conductor Ilan Volkov). Then, I dove right into composing a new piece for the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, called Chamber Music, which was premiered just recently in Portland, OR under Jun Markl. There’s a nice write-up about the piece and my time composing it here.

I then spent 8 weeks as a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, in the beautiful Massachusetts Berkshires, where I worked on site-specific projects there as well as a big new piece for NYC-based trio, Bearthoven. We recently were honored to receive a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant for this project!

Watch out Donato! While a composing fellow at Tanglewood, Katherine had to write a short piece that she later had to conduct. (Balch claims she was “terrible”!)

Now, I’m back in school at Columbia University, where I’m currently in the 3rd year of my doctorate. I spent some time revisiting like a broken clock, and with the California Symphony recording in hand and some reflecting in mind, made some substantial revisions to the piece.

CSO: You’re working on your next commission for us — a violin concerto, which will premiere at the season finale and which you’re writing for your friend Robyn Bollinger. How is that going?

KB: I’m so excited to be working on this piece for my dear friend. The piece is called Artifacts, and each movement takes as a departure point a fragment or gesture from pieces in the solo violin repertoire that I love. Some of those pieces remind me of Robyn and her playing, and were chosen with her in mind, like Paganini’s 6th caprice for solo violin. I heard this piece for the first time when Robyn played all 24 of the Paganini Caprices in a single concert.

I currently have sketches of each movement, and am just starting to orchestrate some moments from each movement to workshop with the orchestra in January.

Composition sketches in Katherine’s studio at Tanglewood

CSO: You’re coming back to workshop the piece with Donato and the orchestra in January. Having done that once already last year, are approaching things any differently this time, and if so, how?

KB: I plan to use my time very differently. Last year, I came into the workshop with a basically finished draft of the piece, and the orchestra read it. This recording helped me tighten up loose ends and rework the ending of the piece, but I think because the piece was so close to done, I wasn’t as open about making changes as I could have been.

This time, I am going to bring small excerpts from each movement that each address a potential orchestral problem or question I have. In this way, it’ll be more explicitly experimental than the first workshop. I think this will be more educational for me and will also keep me open to making more drastic changes to the piece after the workshop period.

CSO: Outside of the California Symphony premiere, what else are you currently working on?

KB: Once I finish the workshop materials for California Symphony, I’ll be writing a piece for ‘cello and piano for my Young Concert Artists-roster colleague, the brilliant cellist Zlatomir Fung.

I’ll also be starting a string quartet for Juilliard’s quartet-in-residence, the Argus Quartet, which premieres the day after Robyn’s violin concerto, on May 6 in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.

Later in the season, I’ll be writing a double bass septet (yes, seven double basses) for Tanglewood Music Center, which will be performed in the summer.

Composition in progress: Katherine at work on the violin concerto that will have its world premiere at our 2018–19 season closer on May 5, 2019. Her cat Zarathustra likes to “help.”

Katherine Balch’s Violin Concerto will premiere May 5, 2019 at the California Symphony season finale. Tickets and information at www.californiasymphony.org/epicbruckner

Fresh Look—The Symphony Exposed

This summer, 60 people—from classical music novices to dedicated aficionados—joined the California Symphony for a pilot adult education course led by instructor Scott Foglesong (Chair of Musicianship and Music Theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music), which was designed to throw light on the symphony and the music we play.

Course instructor Scott Foglesong delivered four lively, 90-minute classes to an engaged and appreciative audience for new adult education series Fresh Look—The Symphony Exposed.

Session one of the series, “Who’s on First?,” gave a quick introduction to the history of orchestras and highlighted the role of the conductor. Here’s an extract from the course materials for the first class.

Interested to Join the Course in 2019?

Leave your contact info here to be notified of future course offerings.

Leave your contact info here to be notified of future course offerings.

Be a part of the success! Support music education during the California Symphony’s Crescendo Your Impact fall fundraising campaign and when you give by Oct. 31, 2018, your gift is matched dollar-for-dollar and your impact is DOUBLED.

Your donation supports:

A season of exciting concerts featuring amazing professional musicians and stellar guest artists — all right here in Walnut Creek

Sound Minds — providing intensive music training and transforming the lives and futures of local children in one of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the state

Emerging composer talent through the highly-regarded Young American Composer-in-Residence program

www.californiasymphony.org/crescendo or call the California Symphony office at 925 280 2490 for assistance.

And the Winners Are…

We’re delighted to introduce six new recruits to the California Symphony. The group includes four international artists, two Juilliard School graduates, a student of Itszhak Perlman, and a self-described corgi-whisperer.

Clockwise from top left: Sarena Hsu Giarrusso (Assistant Principal Violin II), Xander Abbe, Sheng-Ching Hsu, Mijung Kim, Junghee Lee, Yulee Seo.

One hot day in June, the California Symphony held a grueling full day of auditions, seeking to fill several positions in the violin section. These fine musicians rose to the challenge and emerged victorious!

Music Director Donato Cabrera is thrilled with the caliber of his newest recruits. “I’m excited for the addition of these wonderful musicians to the California Symphony’s violin section. Sarena, Xander, Sheng-Ching, Junghee, Mijung and Yulee bring an incredible breadth of knowledge and experience to our orchestra, and their individual contibutions really show in the quality of performances you experience in the hall.”

The happy winners! From L to R: Concertmaster Jennifer Cho, Yulee Seo, Music Director Donato Cabrera, Junghee Lee, Sarena Hsu Giarrusso, Principal Violin II Philip Santos, Mujing Kim and Xander Abbe. (The sixth and final audition winner, Sheng-Ching Hsu, had to leave early to catch a flight back to New York.)

Sarena Hsu-Giarrusso — Assistant Principal Second Violin

Sarena Hsu Giarrusso holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the California State University of Sacramento where she graduated with Magna Cum Laude, Phi Kappa Phi honors, and Pi Kappa Lambda music honors.

As an active orchestral player, Sarena currently is a member of the Stockton Symphony. Recent performances include Opera San Jose in child prodigy Alma Deutscher’s opera Cinderella, and with Opera Parallèle in jazz trumpeter Terrence Blanchard’s opera Champion. Sarena has played with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Monterey Symphony, Modesto Symphony, and Napa Symphony. She has also been a member of the North State Symphony and has performed with the Juneau Symphony, Sacramento Chorale Society, Livermore Valley Opera, and at the Mendocino Music Festival.

Sarena has performed throughout North America and Europe in venues that include Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Munich Philharmonic Hall, Smetana Hall in Prague, SF JAZZ center, and Davies Symphony Hall.

“Outside of music, my hidden talent is that I am a corgi-whisperer.”—Sarena Hsu Giarrusso

To learn more about Sarena, please visit her website at www.sarenahsu.com

Xander Abbe

Originally from McLean, VA, Xander Abbe has been a violinist since the age of five, and graduated with a B.A. in music from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He regularly performs with the California Pops Orchestra, and he is the principal second violin of the Golden State Pops Orchestra in Los Angeles.

Previously, he served as concertmaster of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, with which he performed the violin solo in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in 2010, and he toured China with New York’s Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in 2011. He is an avid player of string quartets, having participated in chamber music festivals in Budapest, Salzburg, Paris, and Bennington, Vermont.

He lives in San Jose with his husband Murray and their four cats.

“My favorite composer is Franz Schubert. His string quartets are epic.”—Xander Abbe

Sheng-Ching Hsu

Born in Taiwan, Sheng-Ching Hsu was six years old when she made her first public appearance as a violinist and a pianist at the National Cheng-Kung University.

She has performed in venues such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Chile), Remonstrantse Kerk in Alkmaar (The Netherlands), and National Recital Hall (Taiwan). Last season saw performances in Carnegie Hall, the Bohemian Consulate (New York), and National Recital Hall (Taiwan) and more.

Sheng-Ching has won numerous competitions, including the Flushing Young Artist Competition, and the Asia Pacific Cup Music Competition. In 2001, Sheng-Ching was the youngest participant and winner of the Tainan National Music Competition; she won the composition category a year later. Sheng-Ching’s exceptional talent has led her to stages throughout Asia and attracted the attention of Yamaha and Kawai. She is a scholarship recipient of both companies.

“My favorite composer is J. S. Bach. His music is simple enough for a 10 year old to learn, but is also so complex that you never stop playing and discovering new things for the rest of your life.”—Sheng-Ching Hsu

Teaching is also one of Sheng-Ching’s passions, which has led to her coaching chamber music at Stony Brook University, leading the Great Youth Symphony in Staten Island and serving as both violin and piano instructor at Manhasset School of Music, in addition to her private studio in New York City.

Sheng-Ching studied in the Juilliard Pre-College Division, where she served as the concertmaster of the Pre-College Orchestra, and studied with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho. Sheng-Ching has a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Mannes College of Music and a Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School, with the generous support of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship. She recently earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Philip Setzer and Arnaud Sussman.

Junghee Lee

Junghee Lee has achieved great success as an active soloist, orchestral and chamber musician. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she received a Bachelor of Music from Yonsei University, her Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School, and she earned Doctor of Musical Arts from Rutgers University.

In 2013, she was the winner of the International Competition of Romantic Music in New York, and was a winner in the Rutgers Chamber Music Competition.

She has performed at numerous venues, such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. She has studied with Hyo Kang, Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin, Yoon Kwon and Dan Carlson. Currently, she is a section violinist at Santa Cruz Symphony. Passionate about teaching, she also has many students in San Francisco Bay Area.

“My motto? Life is short! Enjoy!”—Junghee Lee

Mijung Kim

A native of Seoul, Korea, began to study the violin at the age of seven. Mijung holds both her B.M. and M.M. degrees in Orchestral Music from Ewha Women’s University and studied the Professional Studies Diploma Program with Professor Wei He at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

She was a member of Seoul Youth Orchestra for four years and played at Cheonan Philharmonic Orchestra as a first violin from 2010 through 2017. She is also a founding member of the Viva String Quartet.

Throughout her career, she has performed for orchestras and chambers in various countries including Korea, Japan, China and the U.S., and has achieved several awards including the 1st Place in the American Protégé International Piano and String Competition, Manhae Competition and the Youngsan Arthall Chamber Contest.

“My favorite composer is Dmitri Shostakovich because his pieces have energy, message, and dissonance, and above all they are very enjoyable to play.”—Mijung Kim

Yulee Seo

Born in South Korea, violinist Yulee Seo has appeared as a soloist and an active chamber/orchestra player in Korea, Japan, China, Austria, Germany, Poland, Sweden and the USA. She has performed in major venues including Musikverein Vienna, Carnegie Hall, Salzburg Festspielhaus, Disney Hall, Liederhalle, Muza Kawasaki, and Seoul Arts Center.

A winner of numerous competitions, among them the Padova International Music Competition and the Dichler Competition, she played as soloist with Seoul Symphony, Hungarian Kammer, SK Networks Chamber, SNU Modern Ensemble, and Tri Valley Youth Symphony. She had the honor of performing J.S. Bach’s Chaconne at the St. Thomas Church where J.S.Bach worked as Kapellmeister, as part of the Bach Festival in Leipzig. She has played with the Stuttgart Philharmonic (Praktikum), International Attergau Institute Orchestra (principal), Festival Ensemble Stuttgart, Aurora Festival Orchestra, SNU-Mannheim Project Tour, Bucheon Philharmonic, TIMF Ensemble, Seoul Philharmonic, amongst many others.

She is the recipient of numerous scholarships, including those awarded by the Live Music Now Foundation by Yehudi Menuhin, Rotary Club Wiener Neustadt, and Angelika-Prokopp Akademie of the Vienna Philharmonic. In recognition of the last award, she was invited to perform at the Salzburg Festival.

After moving to the United States, she served as concertmaster for the Berkeley Chamber Opera, and was a faculty member at the Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy (FOOSA). She recently joined to the Marin Symphony, California Symphony, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. She maintains private studio in Bay Area, and she coaches Hope Box Charity Youth Orchestra as well as Tri Valley Youth Symphony.

Seo holds degrees from Seoul National University and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Congratulations to all these wonderful musicians: We are so happy you have joined the California Symphony family!

Look out for these new faces on stage at the Lesher Center throughout the 2018–19 season and beyond.

Be a part of the success! Support musical excellence during the California Symphony’s Crescendo Your Impact fall fundraising campaign and when you give by Oct. 31, 2018, your gift is matched dollar-for-dollar and your impact is DOUBLED.

Your donation supports:

A season of exciting concerts featuring amazing professional musicians and stellar guest artists — all right here in Walnut Creek

Sound Minds—providing intensive music training and transforming the lives and futures of local children in one of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the state

Emerging composer talent through the highly-regarded Young American Composer-in-Residence program

www.californiasymphony.org/crescendo or call the California Symphony office at 925 280 2490 for assistance.

Trial by Audition

Imagine a job interview where you get to say anything you want and your interviewers have no idea who you are or where you’re from. Where your anonymous artistry is left to speak for itself, and where you never see your interviewers’ faces until AFTER you’re offered the job…

We lift the lid on the mysterious world of orchestra auditions and take you behind the scenes of what it’s like to try out for the California Symphony.

For musicians and artists, auditions are a high-stakes, high-stress fact of life: Years—if not decades—of study and practice of your art, distilled into just a few minutes of playing, with every aspect of your performance— accuracy, tone, pitch, tempo, expression—scrutinized by the judging panel.

But what you might not know is that those aspiring to join a professional orchestra like the California Symphony have an unique set of additional circumstances to deal with, thanks to the established practice of blind auditions.

What’s a Blind Audition?

A screen is erected between the candidate and the selection panel and neither one can see the other, hence the audition is “blind.”

Here’s what it looks like from both sides of the screen.

Blind auditions: The selection panel’s view from in front of the screen, and the candidates’ view from behind it.

Why Hold Blind Auditions?

Boston Symphony was the first to try blind auditions in 1952 as a way to tackle rampant nepotism. At that time, the students and friends of existing orchestra members were pretty much guaranteed of winning auditions and securing jobs with the orchestra: people hired the people they knew, and inside connections were everything. Of course, not only was this unfair, it also meant that better candidates might not make the cut, which in turn had implications for the quality of the ensemble. So, for the first time in 1952, candidates were asked to audition behind a screen: Musicians would be judged solely on the merits of their playing.

While the screens helped address favoritism, it was observed that the audition results still skewed male.

“Then they asked candidates to remove their shoes, and that made all the difference,” says California Symphony Executive Director Aubrey Bergauer. “Why? Because the sound of the women’s heeled shoes as they walked on stage unknowingly influenced the panelists.”

As these practices to ensure fairness were adopted, it was found was that the combination of the screen plus shoes removed increased the chances that a woman would advance through preliminary rounds by +50%. Before blind auditions were introduced, male orchestra members outnumbered female musicians almost 2-to-1. As of 2013 data, the ratio of male to female orchestra musicians in professional orchestras is 54% to 46%, and if you look at the California Symphony, we now have more women than men in the orchestra (54% women and 46% men).

Auditioning for the California Symphony

Every spring, auditions are held to fill vacancies and to increase the number of permanent musicians in the California Symphony. The higher the number of permanent orchestra members, the greater the continuity of players from one concert to the next, and the tighter the ensemble. That enables Music Director Donato Cabrera to shape and develop a unique sound with the California Symphony. Recruiting the right people to the right sections is crucial to the artistic integrity of the orchestra.

Last spring, auditions for clarinet and principal timpani were held and we welcomed Stephen Zelinski and Alex Orfaly to the orchestra. This year, the focus was on filling the many vacancies in the violin section, resulting in the largest audition process we have ever handled in a single day.

Here’s how things went down…

Before the Big Day

While the focus of the action and the drama is definitely audition day itself, the process leading up to the day requires a LOT of planning. In fact, reviewing her notes, Operations and Education Director Sunshine Deffner counts 43 separate items to project manage so that everything runs smoothly, including:

—Finding an audition venue and setting the date. In this case, June 18 at Danville Village Theatre.

— Putting together the resume review committee and selection panel.

— Advertising in various media, including international online publications, on our website, and through Facebook.

— Renting pipe and drape for the screens, and hiring the auditions venue itself!

— Music! The principal chair of the violin section recommends the audition pieces, and after getting Maestro’s input, audition excerpts are provided to the short-listed candidates. There can be more than a dozen passages on the audition list, however candidates may only be asked to perform 4 or 5 pieces on the day.

The Candidates

51 musicians applied, and 27 were invited to audition at Danville Village Theatre on June 18. After some last minute cancellations, 25 showed up to audition.

Candidates came to us from right here in the East Bay and from as far afield as Chicago and New York. They included musicians with multiple advanced degrees, people who had performed in major venues around the globe, and even one who had studied under Itzhak Perlman.

The Odds

Up to seven spots in the violin section were up for grabs on this occasion, including the role of Assistant Principal to the Second Violin section, which created unusually favorable odds to win to an audition for a position with a professional orchestra.

Audition Day Arrives!

The seven-person judging panel comprised five tenured Orchestra members (including the principals of three sections), Concertmaster Jennifer Cho, and of course Music Director Donato Cabrera.

The Selection Committee confers with the Union Steward and Orchestra Personnel Manager.

Additionally, a Union Steward and the Orchestra Personnel Manager were present to ensure the rules are observed and to brief the musicians at every stage, while Operations & Education Director Sunshine Deffner was on hand throughout the day to ensure things run smoothly.

To preserve anonimity, candidates are not allowed to speak during their audition, and any questions must be channeled through a California Symphony staff member. While women don’t usually take off their shoes these days, they are encouraged to wear soft-soled shoes, so the sound of heels on the stage don’t give the game away in terms of the candidate’s gender. For each round, the musicians draw lots to determine their audition order, and they are announced to the committee only by their lot number.

On this day, the selection process was scheduled to go for three rounds (preliminaries, semi-finals and finals), with 10 minutes allotted for each candidate in each round. Members of the selection committee cast secret ballots and candidates progress based on a majority vote.

Backstage — the selections for the first round are posted outside the audition hall for the musicians. Instruments, some valued at tens of thousands of dollars, are never far from their owners!

What Sets a Good Audition Apart from a Bad One?

During the course of the day, the committee will hear the same pieces of music played by multiple different candidates. According to Music Director Donato Cabrera, “As audition committee members, we are all hoping to hear everyone who is auditioning make as much music as possible in one of the most unmusical, sterile environments ever devised, the screened audition.” He adds, “On any given day, certain people will be better at this Herculean task than others.”

Making the Cut

Unsuccessful candidates are let go after each round. For those who progress through the rounds, it’s a long day, starting at 9am and wrapping with the announcement of the winners at around 4pm, when they are finally introduced to their future colleagues and warmly welcomed into the California Symphony family.

And the Winners Are…

In the end, the committee awarded positions to six candidates. Read all about our audition winners here.

The Candidate’s Perspective

Sarena Hsu Giarrusso who scored the most prestigious slot available at this year’s auditions, gives her insights into what the process is like from the point of view of the person behind the screen, being judged.

California Symphony: How did you prepare on the day of your audition?

Hsu Giarrusso: I woke up at 6am to make sure I had a few hours to be awake and have enough time to practice/warm up my fingers before heading out to Danville, which is about a 40-minute drive from my house.

CS: Did you recognize anyone at the audition?

Hsu Giarrusso: There were several other candidates that I recognized at the audition! That can always be intimidating since the music community is very close-knit in the Bay Area and at this level, the players tend to all know each other.

CS: How did you feel you during each round? Were you confident?

Hsu Giarrusso: To be honest, I was incredibly nervous as I tend to have stage fright, not to mention seeing many people that I knew at the audition. I think I was also in shock when I drew the #1 slot in every single round! What are the chances?!

CS: Not only did you win the audition, you were awarded Assistant Principal Violin. That’s like being the number 1 draft pick!

Hsu Giarrusso: It took a couple of seconds for me to register that I won the Assistant Principal chair. I knew that the other candidates in the finals round with me were all amazing players, and it’s always difficult not to compare yourself to the competition at the moment!

CS: You performed last month in the season opener, Beethoven and Bernstein. How was your first time playing with the California Symphony?

Hsu Giarrusso: I had an incredible time playing with the Symphony for the very first time. I’m lucky to have an amazing stand partner, Philip [Santos, Principal Violin II], and honored to play with all the other unbelievably talented, professional musicians.

Your donation supports:

A season of exciting concerts featuring amazing professional musicians and stellar guest artists — all right here in Walnut Creek

Sound Minds — providing intensive music training and transforming the lives and futures of local children in one of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the state

Emerging composer talent through the highly-regarded Young American Composer-in-Residence program

www.californiasymphony.org/crescendo or call the California Symphony office at 925 280 2490 for assistance.