LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA – A bike ride through New York City, memories of home and Afro-Cuban rhythms are all heading to the concert stage in Livermore.
Pacific Chamber Orchestra will premiere five works by emerging composers at its sixth annual Winning Scores concert. And you can hear them without paying for a concert ticket.
The performance is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, at 3 p.m. at Bella Rosa at Garre Vineyard & Winery, 7986 Tesla Road in Livermore, according to the orchestra’s current event listing. Admission is free, though seating is limited and attendees should reserve seats.
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Five Composers, Five Different Stories
Winning Scores gives audiences a chance to hear new orchestral music and meet the people behind it.
According to the orchestra’s announcement, a panel of senior composers and the orchestra’s music director selected this year’s five composers from a competitive applicant pool.
Among them is Benjamin Edelson, whose piece, e-biking from canal to houston, draws inspiration from a cycling trip through New York City. The orchestra will evoke the people, traffic and shifting surroundings encountered along the way.
Aidan Gold’s Taking Care of Your Orchestra takes a different approach: It is a musical game piece. Gold is a composer, conductor, percussionist and educator whose work explores storytelling, improvisation and connections between people.
Flannery Cunningham’s You Sound Like Home considers how our upbringing shapes the way we hear music. Its influences include Sacred Harp and traditional Irish singing, landscapes and Irish folklore.
Dutch-Cuban composer and pianist Julian Stuart-Burns will present In a Few. Drawing on Afro-Cuban Guaguanco music and childhood memories, the work celebrates the cultural legacy of Cubans in the United States.
Rounding out the program is Samuel Long’s Boston: On the Astral Plane, which explores different approaches to pitch and intonation. Long holds an MFA from Brandeis University and is pursuing a doctorate in musical arts at Boston University, according to the announcement.
Meet the People Behind the Music
The composers will also participate in an audience Q&A, offering listeners a chance to ask about the works and their inspiration.
“It is a thrill to be the first audience to hear these premieres, unveiled just for you,” Music Director Lawrence Kohl said in the orchestra’s press release.
Kohl said the program’s conversations between composers and listeners are part of its purpose, giving audiences a role in supporting emerging musical talent.
For anyone curious about how an orchestral piece comes together, the afternoon offers something beyond the performance itself: an opportunity to hear directly from its creator.
The Concert Is Free; Dinner Is Optional
An optional gala dinner with the composers follows the concert. The orchestra lists dinner tickets at $150 per person or $1,000 for a table of eight.
The dinner is a separate paid event; concert admission is free.
Visit Pacific Chamber Orchestra’s website for reservations and current event information.
