Santa Rosa Symphony Announces New Free Virtual Five-concert Series

December 29, 2020

Following enthusiastic response and rave reviews to the fall SRS @ Home virtual concerts, the Santa Rosa Symphony announces a new, free, virtual, five-concert series with Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong’s rich and innovative programming, recorded on the Weill Hall stage at the Green Music Center. These virtual concerts, which will stream on YouTube, complete the 2020-2021 season for the Resident Orchestra of the Green Music Center. These unique concert experiences are enhanced with introductions of the pieces from the musicians and paired with live pre-concert talks and post-concert Q&As with Lecce-Chong. With help from faithful donors, sponsors, subscribers and patrons, the Symphony continues to ensure that these concerts remain free to all, to bring joy during a time of isolation and uncertainty.

Artistic Partnership with Renowned Composer

For this new, virtual, five-concert series (January – May), the Symphony welcomes legendary composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich as its Artistic Partner. The first female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music (1983), Zwilich is a prolific composer whose works, which enjoy a wide appeal with her signature style, have been performed by most of the leading American orchestras and Internationally by major ensembles. Her list of awards is heady and long, and includes two Grammy nominations. Each of the upcoming five SRS @ Home concerts features a Zwilich work. In addition, she brings her vision, expertise and experience, as she takes an active role with the orchestra, Francesco and the community over the course of the season. Works performed by Zwilich include: Concerto Grosso 1985 for Chamber Orchestra [after Handel], Prologue and Variations for String Orchestra, Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (with acclaimed cellist Zuill Bailey), Romance for Violin and Orchestra (with SRS Concertmaster Joseph Edelberg)and Peanuts® Gallery for Piano and Orchestra (with pianist Elizabeth Dorman). In 1998, the orchestra performed her Peanuts® Gallery with Peanuts® cartoon strip creator Charles Schulz, who was also a close friend of Conductor Emeritus Corrick Brown, and Snoopy in attendance.

Lecce-Chong says, "I have been truly moved by this orchestra's commitment to creatively and safely bringing music to our community and this new series of programs keeps the focus on our brilliant musicians while showcasing our vital role in the music of today. I am honored to partner with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who has helped define American music for the past several decades. From the West Coast premiere of her cello concerto to her delightful Peanuts® Gallery, with its connection to Sonoma County, audiences will get a unique view into her music and the creative process."

Programming Highlights

The upcoming SRS @ Home concerts feature Mozart's Symphony No. 39; Haydn's Symphony No. 45, Farewell; Serenades by Brahms (No. 2) and Tchaikovsky (in C major for String Orchestra); Dvořák's Czech Suite; Wagner's Siegfired Idyll for Small Orchestra; Rossini's Overture to Il signor Bruschino; Barber's Adagio for Strings; Paul Dooley's Sonoma Strong (an SRS commission) and so much more. Other living and more recent composers, aside from Zwilich, include William Grant Still, Jessie Montgomery, Charles Ives, Caroline Shaw, Arturo Márquez and Michael Daugherty.

In keeping with the Symphony's commitment to provide additional value to its subscribers, it continues to provide them with exclusive 30-day access to these performances, plus five more exclusive guest artist recitals, which include conversations with Lecce-Chong. Guest artists for these Subscriber extras include cellist Zuill Bailey, violinist Jennifer Frautschi, clarinetist David Krakauer, pianist Michelle Cann and one more to be announced.

Lecce-Chong, whose contract was recently renewed for another five years (see recent, separate release), guest conducts around the world. He made his San Francisco Symphony subscription debut in the 2018-2019 season and his New York Philharmonic debut as part of the legendary Young People’s Concert Series in the 2019-2020 season. Now living in Sonoma County, Lecce-Chong still maintains his position as Music Director of the Eugene Symphony in Oregon. Lecce-Chong is represented by IMG Artists, an agency that boasts such luminaries as Renée Fleming, Joshua Bell and Sarah Chang on its roster. Read full bio here.

SRS @ HOME Virtual Concert Series, Conducted by Francesco Lecce-Chong

Dates and artists are subject to change

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24 @ 3 pm YouTube

  • BACH: Ricercare à 6 from Das Musikalische Opfer [The Musical Offering], Anton Webern, arr.
  • ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH: Concerto Grosso 1985 for Chamber Orchestra [after Handel]
  • MARIANNA MARTINES: Sinfonia in C major
  • MOZART: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 @ 3 pm YouTube

  • WILLIAM GRANT STILL: Serenade
  • WAGNER: Siegfired Idyll for Small Orchestra
  • ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH: Prologue and Variations for String Orchestra
  • DVOŘÁK: Czech Suite in D major, Opus 39, B. 93

SUNDAY, MARCH 28 @ 3 pm YouTube

  • Zuill Bailey, cello – guest artist
  • JESSIE MONTGOMERY: Starburst for String Orchestra
  • BARBER: Adagio for Strings
  • ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
  • CHARLES IVES: The Unanswered Question
  • BRAHMS: Serenade No. 2 in A major for Orchestra, Opus 16

SUNDAY, APRIL 25 @ 3 pm YouTube

  • Joseph Edelberg, violin – guess artist
  • CAROLINE SHAW: Entr’acte for String Orchestra
  • ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH: Romance for Violin and Orchestra
  • ARTURO MÁRQUEZ: Danzón No. 4 for Orchestra
  • TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade in C major for String Orchestra, Opus 48

SUNDAY, MAY 16 @ 3 pm YouTube

  • Elizabeth Dorman, piano—guest artist
  • ROSSINI: Overture to Il signor Bruschino
  • MICHAEL DAUGHERTY: Asclepius, Fanfare for Brass and Percussion
  • ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH: Peanuts® Gallery for Piano and Orchestra
  • PAUL DOOLEY: Sonoma Strong for Orchestra
  • HAYDN: Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, Farewell