The Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Lawrence Kohl conductor, will perform all six Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos September Sept 16, 7:30 pm at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church 49 Knox Drive, Lafayette and Sept 17, 3:00 pm at the Bankhead Theater, 2400 First Street, Livermore. The program displays Bach’s “imperishable genius” with an incredible variety of virtuoso concerto formats. PCO’s brilliant soloists include violinists PCO Concertmaster Igor Veligan, and Iris Stone, harpsichordist Yuko Tanaka and Leslie Chin on flute.
Go to PacificChamberOrchestra.org to purchase tickets. Tickets for the Livermore performance may also be purchased through the Bankhead box office (925) 373-6800 or in person at 2400 First Street.
Rarely heard in one concert, these most popular works of Bach’s together form the pinnacle of the Baroque ensemble concerto style. Originally presented as a resume of the kind of works he could offer to the Musgrave of Brandenburg, they sat unperformed and undiscovered for 128 years. The manuscript was nearly lost in World War II, when being transported for safekeeping to Prussia by train in the care of a librarian. The train came under aerial bombardment. The librarian escaped to the nearby forest, with the scores hidden under his coat, traveling by foot to safety. Today, the Concertos consistently rank in the top 100 Classical Music hits. “These concertos,” as Conductor Kohl offers, “enjoin us to experience the sheer joy of each musical moment and in so doing offers a sense of timeless bliss.”
PCO soloists include: Igor Veligan, PCO Concertmaster and violinist will be soloist for Concertos #1, #3 and #5. Igor is a native Ukrainian and graduated from Odessa State Conservatory, UA. He immigrated to the United States in 1996. Igor currently teaches violin and viola at University of the Pacific; where he invests his passion, love of music and professional expertise in guiding the younger generation of musicians. His CD entitled “Voices of Eastern Europe” with pianist Natsuki Fukasawa, features Armenian composer Arno Babajanian, Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk and Romanian composer George Enescu. Igor and Natsuki have performed together in the United States and Europe. Since the 2022 outbreak of the ongoing war in the Ukraine, Igor has performed in numerous fundraisers to aid the needs of the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom and democracy. http://igorveligan.com/
Iris Stone will be violin soloist for Concertos #2 and #4. Originally from Germany, Iris resides in San Francisco where she is a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra. She appeared as part of the Stone-Zimmermann violin-piano duo, and performed and recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. As a member of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Iris performed in the great concert halls of Europe, Asia, and the United States. She has been a member of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, has been Assistant Concertmaster of San Francisco’s Women’s Philharmonic and Principle of the Monterey Symphony Orchestra. Iris Stone first came to the United States in 1993 as a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship. Subsequently she worked with violinist Donald Weilerstein, founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, and later awarded a long-term residency at the prestigious Banff Center for the Arts in Canada. For the past decade, Iris also has taken on acting roles performing with companies around the Bay Area such as California Shakespeare Theatre.
Yuko Tanaka will be the harpsichordist for all six concertos and especially featured in Concerto #5. Yuko is from Tokyo, Japan. She performs with Bertamo, Archetti, Musica Pacifica, California Bach Society ensembles and has recorded with Moscow Chamber Orchestra and American Bach Soloists. She has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. Yuko performs around the world, and for 15 years as a soloist with the Carmel Bach Festival. She serves as Director of Music Discovery Workshop (a program of San Francisco Early Music Society), maintains a private studio, conducts master classes, and appears as guest lecturer at various universities. Yuko received a doctorate in early music from Stanford University and she has recorded with Koch International, Delos International and Magnatune.com.
Leslie Chin will be soloist for concertos #2 and #4. She has lived and worked in the Bay Area as a professional freelance flutist for over 30 years, performing with SF Ballet, SF Opera, Oakland Symphony, Fremont Symphony, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Marin Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony and West Edge Opera. She has recorded music for video games and movies. She also plays in the pit for Broadway shows ("Porgy and Bess," "American in Paris," "The King and I," "Wicked," "Beauty and the Beast," "Cinderella," and "Lion King.") Leslie plays lots of instruments in the flute family: piccolo, alto flute, recorder, pennywhistle, ditzu (chinese bamboo flute), pan pipes, bansuri. She performs on the pennywhistle with a local Pogues cover band. Leslie is grateful to have played flute at Burning Man 2019 with ArtHaus Collective's full-length performance of Stravinsky's Firebird ballet. She enjoys playing chamber music and has performed with the Bellavente Wind Quintet in the SF Symphony's AIM program for over 20 seasons.
ABOUT PACIFIC CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Pacific Chamber Orchestra (PCO) is dedicated to sustaining and extending the rich heritage of classical music for chamber orchestra through inspiring performances and engaging educational programs designed to enrich local communities. This premier regional ensemble, comprised of eight to 42 experienced professional musicians, blends the intimate clarity of chamber music with symphonic power to create an enticing palate of tonal textures. Maestro Kohl’s programs include a versatile repertoire ranging from Baroque to classical to more contemporary, uniquely designed to illuminate connecting threads of works performed. PCO’s main thrust is to bring most talented Bay Area musicians to the Lamorinda and Tri-Valley regions, so that local audiences in an accessible, intimate fashion can experience top artistic quality. Beyond the concert hall, PCO serves thousands of individuals through educational outreach programs. Now in its 34th season, PCO’s tag line “Artistry Passionately Shared” reflects our dual commitment to artistic integrity and community engagement.