California Symphony Concerts Broadcast on Radio Stations Across the Country Starting March 2024
Photo by Kristen Loken. Hi res photos available here.
CALIFORNIA SYMPHONY CONCERTS TO BE BROADCAST ON RADIO STATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY STARTING IN MARCH 2024
AS PART OF WFMT ORCHESTRA SERIES
Led by Donato Cabrera, Artistic & Music Director
“These days in the Bay Area, the California Symphony may be the most forward-looking music organization around.”
– Mercury News
WALNUT CREEK, CA – California Symphony, led by Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera, will be heard on 68 radio stations covering 338 markets across the country starting in March 2024, as part of the WFMT Radio Network’s Orchestra Series. The orchestra’s live concert recordings are featured as part of the Winter 2024 installment of WFMT’s Orchestra Series, which also includes the Dresden Staatskapelle, The Hallé, Royal Liverpool Orchestra, German Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, and China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. The series also includes performances from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony.
Founded in 1986, California Symphony has been led by Donato Cabrera since 2013. It is distinguished by its vibrant concert programs that span the breadth of orchestral repertoire, including works by American composers and by living composers. Its concert season at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, California serves a growing number of music lovers from across the Bay Area. California Symphony believes that the concert experience should be fun and inviting, and its mission is to create a welcoming, engaging, and inclusive environment for the entire community. Through this commitment to community, imaginative programming, and its support of emerging composers, California Symphony is a leader among orchestras in California and a model for regional orchestras everywhere.
The California Symphony programs to be broadcast nationwide feature riveting new orchestral pieces by composers Viet Cuong, Anna Clyne, and Gabriela Lena Frank and stunning performances by soloists Sarah Cahill, piano; Inbal Segev, cello; Charlie Albright, piano; and Nathan Chan, cello. Stations broadcasting the California Symphony’s programs include WQXR in New York, NY; WFMT in Chicago, IL; WRTI in Philadelphia, PA; WCLV in Cleveland, OH; WBJC in Baltimore, MD; KCNV in Las Vegas, NV; KMFA in Austin, TX; KBCS in Seattle, WA; and many more. Check local listings for schedules.
“I’m very excited and proud to be sharing these live performances by my incredible California Symphony colleagues and extraordinary soloists, with a radio audience that spans the entire country,” says Artistic and Music Director Donato Cabrera. “The repertoire we perform is diverse and eclectic, truly showcasing and celebrating the music that only an orchestra can offer.”
“Bringing a new piece of music into the world is an exhilarating and rewarding experience, and I am grateful to the WFMT Radio Network for providing California Symphony with a platform to showcase the richness of the orchestral repertoire alongside the music we commission and perform,” says California Symphony Executive Director Lisa Dell. “California Symphony’s commitment to highlighting the vibrancy of classical music makes our performances a thrilling and accessible experience for all.”
California Symphony’s four programs as part of this WFMT Orchestra Series are:
PROGRAM 1
California Symphony’s first broadcast program features the premiere performance of Stargazer by recent Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong, with Sarah Cahill at the piano. Walton’s Symphony No. 1 continues Donato Cabrera’s exploration of works written around the time of the Second World War, and Ravel’s audience favorite Mother Goose Suite ends the program.
PROGRAM 2
Donato Cabrera leads the California Symphony in a program of dances and melodies in the second broadcast program. Kodály’s Dances of Galánta begins the concert, contrasted with Anna Clyne’s DANCE for Cello and Orchestra, featuring cellist Inbal Segev as soloist. Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk’s emotional and tragic Melody begins the second half. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, which uses Ukrainian folk songs to great effect.
PROGRAM 3
The third broadcast from California Symphony brings a rousing set of works from Bernstein, Debussy, and Gabriela Lena Frank all focused on the theme of dance. Nestled in between, hear pianist Charlie Albright perform Beethoven’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 3.
PROGRAM 4
In this final program, California Symphony celebrates the music of Viet Cuong with his emotional and intricate work Next Week’s Trees, commissioned by the California Symphony early in Cuong’s tenure as Composer-in-Residence with the orchestra. Captivating cellist Nathan Chan performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony concludes the concert.
ABOUT THE WFMT RADIO NETWORK
The WFMT Radio Network, the international syndication division of award-winning Chicago classical music station WFMT, distributes radio series and specials worldwide with a mission to enrich lives, engage communities, and inspire exploration. In addition to these broadcasts, the Network’s portfolio includes concerts by the Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, topic-based series such as Collectors’ Corner, Fiesta!, Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin, and more.