New West Symphony is looking back this month. The Thousand Oaks orchestra, with Michael Christie as artistic and music director, set itself a theme for digital concerts in 2020 and 2021 — classical music by way of Southern California’s many diverse cultures. Or, music that travels, even if audiences are stuck at home. “A Tour of Japan” and “A Tour of India,” mini-festivals combining performances and conversation, premiered last fall.
Next week, the orchestra’s “Global Sounds, Local Cultures” season marks a commemorative note, with a series of programs around Holocaust Remembrance Day. A concert of solo and chamber music, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. PT, follows three talks and events, Jan. 27–30, the bring in members of the community.
That Jan. 31 concert features the Jerusalem Quartet and New West Symphony musicians, with many of the works by 20th-century Jewish composers. The Quartet plays pieces by Erwin Schulhoff and Brahms. NWS principal violist Philip Triggs performs an unaccompanied sonata by Mieczysław Weinberg. Pianist Daniel Vnukowski has a mazurka by Władysław Szpilman, and he also joins NWS principal clarinetist Joshua Ranz for a klezmer piece and concertmaster Alyssa Park for music from Schindler’s List.
The events earlier in the week give some historical context. The Jan. 27 program includes interviews and a showing of the Violins of Hope documentary. Jan. 28 is a talk by UCLA senior lecturer David Ravetch. And Jan. 30 is “Meet the Artists,” with members of the Jerusalem Quartet and Vnukowski.
Tickets for next week’s events, as well as all-access “passports” for NWS’s entire online season, are available on the orchestra’s website and by phone at 805-497-5880 and 866-776-8400. Concerts are also available on demand, including NWS’s two programs from fall 2020.
Coming up later this season: in February, “A Tour of China,” featuring pipa player Wu Man; in April, “Persian Festival,” after the Nowruz holiday; and programs centering on Mexico in May and South Korea in June.
