The Diablo Symphony Orchestra takes listeners on a unique and uplifting musical journey in “Sounds from California to Alaska” on March 13 at 2:00 p.m. at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. Highlighting the distinct sounds of a variety of orchestral instruments, the program features William Grant Still’s “Old California”; Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite; Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City”; and John Luther Adams’s “The Light That Fills the World,” inspired by the shifting and ethereal landscapes of Alaska. Matilda Hofman shares the podium with guest conductors Kathryn Crandell and Jeff Dickey, members of the orchestra's own French horn section.
Also featured is violist Chuxuejie Zhang, co-winner of the 2019–2020 Yen Liang Young Artist Competition, who joins the orchestra in Béla Bartók’s Viola Concerto in A Minor. Highlighting the instrument’s full and rich lower range, the concerto voices feelings about a just-ended world war as well as memories of a devastated homeland. Commissioned by renowned violist William Primrose, the challenging work was left in unfinished draft form upon Bartók’s death and subsequently completed for Primrose by Bartok’s friend Tibor Serly.
Zhang currently studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance and is continuing to pursue her Master of Music Degree in viola performance.
Season Sponsors: Patrick and Shirley Campbell Foundation; Concert Sponsors: Janet Mendenhall; Julian and Susan Fong