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Mission Chamber Orchestra, the San Jose-based orchestra that brings spirited performances of classical and contemporary music to Silicon Valley audiences, will take your breath away with this Valentine’s concert of passion, sparkle and fancy.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
When he was only 17, Mendelssohn was inspired to write this overture to Shakespeare's famous play. A true work of the romantic period, it depicts fairies, the mystery of the forest, and a village dance, complete with donkey braying.
David Avshalomov’s Diamond Variations
Co-commissioned by Tracy Rush for the Dubuque Community Orchestra (Iowa) and by Emily Ray for the Mission Chamber Orchestra, the set of variations for strings and harp grew from the “seed crystal” of an original theme with two other variations on it written in the early 1990’s for the Gemological Institute of America, as theme music for an audiobook course about diamonds.
The simple theme which widens melodically in an angular way, by moving from its first note up a step, then down a third, up a fourth, down a fifth, etc. to the octave, suggests the clean triangular or trapezoidal faces that are found both on full-formed rough diamond octahedra, and the many tiny facets that cutters grind onto the surface of a fashioned stone to reveal the total brilliance of a full-cut gem. This brilliance is both beauty and a snare: the variations portray beauty, friendship, yearning, and romance, but also greed, smuggling, theft, and the violence sometimes associated with the mining, movement, and ownership of diamonds.
Lee Actor’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra – world premiere, featuring saxophonist Ashu
“One of my goals in writing this piece, said composer Lee Actor, “was to exploit the considerable dramatic and expressive possibilities of the saxophone. The first movement, marked Andante appassionato, begins with an intense, declamatory statement in the high cellos accompanied by a counterpoint in the low violas, over a pedal G in the timpani and basses. The second movement, Adagio, begins with the saxophone playing a lonely solo. The finale, Allegro molto, is colorful and full of energy and high spirits. The result is a piece that expresses a full range of emotions, from intensely dramatic to poignantly lyrical to slyly humorous to triumphantly joyful. ”Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra was commissioned by the Mission Chamber Orchestra, dedicated to saxophonist Ashu, and is tailored to his uniquely personal style of performance.
Wolfgang A. Mozart’s Symphony no. 34
This is the last symphony Mozart wrote while living in Salzburg. It is somewhat unusual in that it has only three movements, missing the minuet that was standard for symphonies of that time. It also exhibits the fanfare traits of his Symphony no. 31, written for the Paris orchestra, and gives greater prominence to the viola (in the second movement) than is typical.
Title of Event: Valentine’s Day Concert: Diamonds and Dreams
Program:
Mendelssohn Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Avshalomov Diamond Variations
Actor Saxophone Concerto, world premiere
featuring saxophonist Ashu
Mozart Symphony no.34
Please join Emily Ray and the Mission Chamber Orchestra for an evening of romance expressed through music!
A 10-minute question and answer session will be held immediately following the concert. 
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