In Sunday’s (12/20) entry at his blog Dog Days at the ArtsJournal website, Dalouge Smith, president and CEO of San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, describes the impact of a recent West Coast Left Coast concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “It had the intimacy and ambiance of a community event unlike most orchestra concerts I attend. I came understanding more than ever how effectively the LA Phil plays the role of community convener for its city.” During a pre-concert talk between festival director/conductor John Adams, composer William Kraft, and moderator Molly Sheridan, Smith notes, “Mr. Adams articulated the arch of connectivity between the music on the program and Los Angeles”: composer and musician Paul Dresher was born in LA; William Kraft is the former principal timpanist, assistant conductor, and composer-in-residence of the L.A. Philharmonic; Leonard Rosenman’s music for Rebel Without a Cause was written in LA for a movie set in LA; and Adams’s The Dharma at Big Sur was composed for the opening concerts of Walt Disney Concert Hall. “To add to the sense of community experience, John Adams mentioned onstage before performing the Rosenman piece that someone told him earlier in the day the composer was once roommates with James Dean. He asked if Mrs. Rosenman was in the audience and could confirm the story. She did!”
Posted December 21, 2009
