The Diablo Symphony is delighted to join forces with pianists Randall Benway and Hernando Torres-Fernandez in this year’s annual Family Concert on Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Lesher Center for the Arts. An exuberant and humorous outing for newcomers as well as longtime lovers of the symphony, the program offers a variety of musical adventures the whole family will enjoy. Included in the hour-long program is Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals featuring the strings, two pianos, glockenspiel and xylophone, with special appearances by the flute, piccolo and clarinet (come guess which one mimics the call of a cuckoo bird in the woods). Tchaikovsky’s “Pizzicato Ostinato” from Symphony No. 4 and John Williams’ Jurassic Park also highlight instruments of the orchestra and showcase a variety of musical themes and rhythms. Matilda Hofman, the DSO’s Music Director and Conductor, shares her baton as Kathryn Crandell temporarily leaves the French Horn section to conduct Jurassic Park and children leave the audience to conduct the orchestra at concert’s end.
Randall Benway has performed extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist, a soloist with orchestras, and as a chamber musician, including live radio broadcasts on National Public Radio. He is a founding member of the Redwood Trio and has been assistant Director and pianist for the Blackhawk Chorus since 2009. Hernando Torres-Fernandez, a native of Peru, has performed piano recitals in Peru, Brazil, England, Italy, Spain and France, chamber music in Finland, Sweden and Colombia, and has been a soloist with orchestras in Arequipa and Lima, Peru. He is also a career diplomat, most recently as Consul General of Peru in San Francisco.
Season Sponsors: Patrick and Shirley Campbell Foundation