PRESS
RELEASE
310.450.8338, ext. 287 09 APR 2008
SAMOHI Symphony Orchestra returns from a
Central European Tour!
The Samohi
Symphony Orchestra have returned from a memorable Spring Tour of Salzburg,
Vienna, Brno and Prague. The district’s
musicians were warmly received by Austrian and Czech audiences at each of their
four performances. In
Austria, they were guests at closed rehearsals of the world
renowned Berlin Philharmonic and Conductor Simon Rattle, and the
Vienna Symphony at the Musikverein. In Prague, the students
were guests of the Prague Symphony, where they were
personally coached by their Concertmaster for the district’s string
section, First Clarinet for the woodwinds section, and First Horn for the
brass section.
The students’ first
concert took place in Vienna at the Orangerie at Schonbrunn Palace, where
Mozart and Haydn performed, and where SMMUSD students were introduced to
the audience by the US Cultural Attaché to Austria. Throughout the
concert, snow was softly falling, and afterwards, our musicians let off a
little steam with a snowball fight! Brno was the site of the second
concert, after a workshop with Brno Conservatory students, where SMMUSD
students performed with the Brno students in a joint concert to a
full house. In Prague, the Samohi Chamber Orchestra performed
beautifully at the Czech Museum of Music, and their final concert was held at
the Rudolfinum in Prague, considered one of the most beautiful concert venues
in Europe. At this concert, the Samohi Symphony Orchestra presented
a plaque commemorating the Czech composer Dvorak's stay in the United
States, which will be placed in the Czech Museum of Music.
When the students were
not rehearsing or performing, they managed to take in many
sights, including tours of Schonbrunn Palace, the Muzikverein, St.
Florian Abbey, the Kast Caves, Terezin, Konopiste Palace, and walking tours of
the old city in Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague. The evenings were filled
with opera (Carmen, Magic Flute), Chamber music, Black Light
Theater, visits to an art museum, or strolling through the city.
District students and chaperones celebrated their last night with a dinner
cruise on the Muldau. Although the group encountered quite a bit of snow,
it contributed to the sense of adventure.
This
Symphony tour is a successful culmination of commitment and
tremendous effort by SMMUSD Orchestra teachers, student
musicians and their families, the community, and the support of school
administration and district. Thank you to Samohi Principal Dr. Pedroza for
his leadership and guidance from the inception of this tour; to Tom
Whaley, District Fine Arts Coordinator, for his full participation and enthusiastic
support; to Chief Academic Officer Dr. Sally Chou for joining this
tour and encouraging the educational opportunities for our students; to the
amazing Orchestra faculty, Ms. Joni Swenson and Mr. Jason Aiello and guest
conductor, Mr. Vince Gomez, and Catherine Baxter for her support throughout the
process; and to the Santa Monica City Council.
Thanks also to the
very dedicated volunteer tour committee members and tireless
chaperones who worked so hard to make this tour possible: Teri
Zakzook, Amy and Tim Van Pelt, Claire and David Miller, Philip Himberg, Wendy
McGinty, Alex Novakovich, Roland and Marni Wieshofer, Bruce Allen, Jim
Ballantine, Mark and Jackie Bartelt, Lena Bassé, Izak and Sharon Ben-Meir,
Winnie Chiu, Eileen Escarce, Jane Glaser, Susan Henry, Jeanne Ladner, Jenny
Sun, Norm Swenson, Russell Tareo, Zach Van Pelt, Susan Jain, Pat Eastman,
Michael Weiss, Ron and Sue Garber, Jeff Lawrence, Joanne Hwang, Renee Kalmar,
Gail Boyle, Jane Munoz, Richard and Lace Bencivengo, Eve Gordon, Suzanne Barron and many others, whose
commitment, dedication, and spirit of collaboration made the trip such a
success.
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SANTA
MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
1651 16TH
Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
ph:
310.450.8338; fax: 310.581.1138
www.smmusd.org