IT’S MUSIC TO THE EARS OF THE MAESTRO’S ADMIRERS!
Entertainment Desk
March 13, 2006
PASADENA, Calif. This year marks conductor Jorge Mester’s 21st season as Music Director of The Pasadena Symphony. And, to the relief of the maestro’s legion of fans and admirers throughout Southern California – many of whom have been subscribers since Mester first joined the orchestra in 1984 – it won’t be his last. Mester’s contract has been renewed until 2012, says Tom O’Connor, Executive Director of The Pasadena Symphony, with a further extension to be discussed in the third year of the new contract.
I’m very grateful to the Board of Directors and the musicians for the trust and love I have received from them,” said Mester during a break at a recent rehearsal with the orchestra. “I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of this community for years to come and especially to work with such superb colleagues.”
The admiration appears to be mutual.
The orchestra gave a rousing ovation at this news,” said French Horn player Daniel Kelley. “Maestro Mester is the consummate orchestral leader: a musician first, and then a conductor. “
Assistant Principal Violist Carrie Holzman Little agreed. “I have been working with Jorge since he starting conducting The Pasadena Symphony,” said Holzman Little. “He has always been great to work for and a great supporter of his players. I enjoy Jorge’s quick wit and infinite patience with us. I especially like the sparkle in his eye when something goes particularly well in a concert.”
Since The Pasadena Symphony – which holds one concert monthly, October through May – does not hire musicians on a full time basis, the majority of the musicians on the orchestra’s roster make their living as instructors and studio musicians. But the chance to return to their classical roots and perform again before a live audience is a powerful lure, said Linda Krantz, President of the Board of Directors of The Pasadena Symphony.
There are no better musicians in Southern California than working studio musicians,” Krantz revealed. A musician herself, Krantz recently took part in a conducting seminar led by Mester. “And there is no better conductor working today than Jorge Mester,” she added. “Our community is incredibly blessed to have an orchestra of such high caliber led by such an exceptional conductor. Not many cities of our size can claim that.”
Actually, one other city in the United States – Naples, Florida – can make a similar claim: Jorge Mester has also been the Music Director of the Naples Philharmonic for the past two years. In addition, Mester frequently appears as a guest conductor throughout the world, at orchestras ranging from the Royal Philharmonic in London to the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. In the United States he has conducted performances of the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
Mester has also served as Artistic Director of the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, as Music Director of The Louisville Orchestra and Puerto Rico Festival Casals, as Chief Conductor of the West Australia Symphony Orchestra, and as Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. The maestro commanded worldwide attention as well when he conducted the opening ceremonies for the Getty Center in Los Angeles and served as Artistic Director of the Center’s first classical music series.
When not onstage, Mester can often be found in the classroom. Today, he is Conductor Laureate of the Aspen Music Festival, which he led as Music Director for 21 years. He has also helped lead a series of conducting workshops for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conducted at USC’s Thornton School of Music. In the early 1980s, he served as Director of the Conducting Department at the prestigious Julliard School.
I love teaching,” said Mester. “It’s a way for me to pay back the debt I owe to the great conductors and teachers who helped me early in my career.”
These conductors include Leonard Bernstein, Gregor Piatigorski, William Schuman and Jean Morel. The roster of conductors Mester, himself, has mentored is equally impressive: James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Andreas Delfs, JoAnn Falletta and John Nelson. In addition, he played an invaluable role in the early careers of such internationally acclaimed artists as Renee Fleming, Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Cho-Liang Lin and Robert McDuffie.
Mester has also championed the works of many contemporary composers. He has conducted more than 70 world-premiere performances of compositions by Philip Glass, Michael Daughtery, Carl Ruggles, Joan Tower, George Tsontakis and Peter Schickele, who served as The Pasadena Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence in 2002-2003. This past January, Mester conducted the World Premiere performance of Schickele’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring violist Danielle Farina – a work described by East Coast reviewer A. Michael Noll as “a masterpiece – a major addition to the viola concerto repertoire.”
With the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mester presented an unprecedented 10-month retrospective of 20th Century music. He also programmed and directed a 2-month long contemporary music festival in Cape Town, South Africa and, during his 12-year tenure with The Louisville Orchestra, made 72 world premiere recordings with the orchestra.
It was an exciting challenge to find music deserving of a permanent record,” Mester recalled. “I got an incredible overview of contemporary music around the globe.”
As the artistic director of the National Orchestral Association’s New Orchestra Music Project, Mester presented the works of many American composers at Carnegie Hall. Nor have his efforts to advance American music gone unrecognized. Mester is a recipient of the prestigious Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University – an honor he shares with Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein and Leopold Stowkowski.
A review in the Los Angeles Times summarized Mester’s career by saying, simply, “Mester is a master.”
Established in 1928, The Pasadena Symphony is committed to providing orchestral performances of the highest quality and to benefiting the community through its music, education and outreach programs. The Pasadena Symphony performs monthly, October through May, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, located at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena. Concerts begin promptly at 8 p.m., with a free pre-concert lecture series “Insights” taking place in the auditorium at 7 p.m.
Individual ticket prices will range from $15 to $72, with discounts available for groups of ten or more. Student and senior rush tickets will also be available on the day of the concert for $12. To purchase tickets to The Pasadena Symphony’s upcoming performance on March 11 featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Milhaud’s Chansons de Ronsard, call the box office at 626.584.8833. To learn more about The Pasadena Symphony, call The Pasadena Symphony’s offices at 626.793.7172 or visit the orchestra’s website at www.pasadenasymphony.org.
I’m very grateful to the Board of Directors and the musicians for the trust and love I have received from them,” said Mester during a break at a recent rehearsal with the orchestra. “I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of this community for years to come and especially to work with such superb colleagues.”
The admiration appears to be mutual.
The orchestra gave a rousing ovation at this news,” said French Horn player Daniel Kelley. “Maestro Mester is the consummate orchestral leader: a musician first, and then a conductor. “
Assistant Principal Violist Carrie Holzman Little agreed. “I have been working with Jorge since he starting conducting The Pasadena Symphony,” said Holzman Little. “He has always been great to work for and a great supporter of his players. I enjoy Jorge’s quick wit and infinite patience with us. I especially like the sparkle in his eye when something goes particularly well in a concert.”
Since The Pasadena Symphony – which holds one concert monthly, October through May – does not hire musicians on a full time basis, the majority of the musicians on the orchestra’s roster make their living as instructors and studio musicians. But the chance to return to their classical roots and perform again before a live audience is a powerful lure, said Linda Krantz, President of the Board of Directors of The Pasadena Symphony.
There are no better musicians in Southern California than working studio musicians,” Krantz revealed. A musician herself, Krantz recently took part in a conducting seminar led by Mester. “And there is no better conductor working today than Jorge Mester,” she added. “Our community is incredibly blessed to have an orchestra of such high caliber led by such an exceptional conductor. Not many cities of our size can claim that.”
Actually, one other city in the United States – Naples, Florida – can make a similar claim: Jorge Mester has also been the Music Director of the Naples Philharmonic for the past two years. In addition, Mester frequently appears as a guest conductor throughout the world, at orchestras ranging from the Royal Philharmonic in London to the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. In the United States he has conducted performances of the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
Mester has also served as Artistic Director of the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, as Music Director of The Louisville Orchestra and Puerto Rico Festival Casals, as Chief Conductor of the West Australia Symphony Orchestra, and as Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. The maestro commanded worldwide attention as well when he conducted the opening ceremonies for the Getty Center in Los Angeles and served as Artistic Director of the Center’s first classical music series.
When not onstage, Mester can often be found in the classroom. Today, he is Conductor Laureate of the Aspen Music Festival, which he led as Music Director for 21 years. He has also helped lead a series of conducting workshops for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conducted at USC’s Thornton School of Music. In the early 1980s, he served as Director of the Conducting Department at the prestigious Julliard School.
I love teaching,” said Mester. “It’s a way for me to pay back the debt I owe to the great conductors and teachers who helped me early in my career.”
These conductors include Leonard Bernstein, Gregor Piatigorski, William Schuman and Jean Morel. The roster of conductors Mester, himself, has mentored is equally impressive: James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Andreas Delfs, JoAnn Falletta and John Nelson. In addition, he played an invaluable role in the early careers of such internationally acclaimed artists as Renee Fleming, Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Cho-Liang Lin and Robert McDuffie.
Mester has also championed the works of many contemporary composers. He has conducted more than 70 world-premiere performances of compositions by Philip Glass, Michael Daughtery, Carl Ruggles, Joan Tower, George Tsontakis and Peter Schickele, who served as The Pasadena Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence in 2002-2003. This past January, Mester conducted the World Premiere performance of Schickele’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring violist Danielle Farina – a work described by East Coast reviewer A. Michael Noll as “a masterpiece – a major addition to the viola concerto repertoire.”
With the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mester presented an unprecedented 10-month retrospective of 20th Century music. He also programmed and directed a 2-month long contemporary music festival in Cape Town, South Africa and, during his 12-year tenure with The Louisville Orchestra, made 72 world premiere recordings with the orchestra.
It was an exciting challenge to find music deserving of a permanent record,” Mester recalled. “I got an incredible overview of contemporary music around the globe.”
As the artistic director of the National Orchestral Association’s New Orchestra Music Project, Mester presented the works of many American composers at Carnegie Hall. Nor have his efforts to advance American music gone unrecognized. Mester is a recipient of the prestigious Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University – an honor he shares with Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein and Leopold Stowkowski.
A review in the Los Angeles Times summarized Mester’s career by saying, simply, “Mester is a master.”
Established in 1928, The Pasadena Symphony is committed to providing orchestral performances of the highest quality and to benefiting the community through its music, education and outreach programs. The Pasadena Symphony performs monthly, October through May, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, located at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena. Concerts begin promptly at 8 p.m., with a free pre-concert lecture series “Insights” taking place in the auditorium at 7 p.m.
Individual ticket prices will range from $15 to $72, with discounts available for groups of ten or more. Student and senior rush tickets will also be available on the day of the concert for $12. To purchase tickets to The Pasadena Symphony’s upcoming performance on March 11 featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Milhaud’s Chansons de Ronsard, call the box office at 626.584.8833. To learn more about The Pasadena Symphony, call The Pasadena Symphony’s offices at 626.793.7172 or visit the orchestra’s website at www.pasadenasymphony.org.
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