Southwest Chamber Music

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             press@swmusic.org
June 18, 2012                                                                             Press contact: 626.685.4455

 

Summer Festival at The Huntington

Concerts begin July 14

  

 

Southwest Chamber Music on the Loggia at The Huntington

  

Los Angeles, CA - The centenary of famous cookbook author Julia Child inspires Southwest Chamber Music's 2012 Summer Festival at The Huntington.  Child, born in Pasadena, California, spent a number of years post-WWII in Paris studying and savoring the cuisine which resulted in her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.   

  

With a decidedly French Impressionist focus, the summer festival begins Saturday, July 14 (repeated July 15) and continues on Saturdays, with repeats on Sundays, July 28 & 29, August 11 & 12, and August 25 & 26.

 

Southwest's Alison Bjorkedal performs the harp solos in Debussy's Danses Sacrée et Danses Profane,  Ravel's Introduction & Allegro, and is joined by flutist Larry Kaplan in André Jolivet's Chant du Linos.  Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor features the Southwest quartet of Lorenz Gamma and Shalini Vijayan, violins, Luke Maurer, viola, and Peter Jacobson, cello.

 

Soprano Elissa Johnston joins Southwest Summer Season

The July 28 and 29 concerts include soprano Elissa Johnston in Ravel's Chansons madécasses, pianist Ming Tsu joining the string quartet for Milhaud's La création du monde and Franck's Quintet for Piano and Strings, and as soloist in Debussy's Suite Bergamasque. 

 

Concert-goers are encouraged bring their own Julia Child-inspired picnics on the lawn or make reservations for the pre-concert dinners which are available at an additional charge in the elegantly romantic Huntington Tea Room. The three-course menu is prepared by Jon Dubrick, Executive Chef at The Huntington Tea Room from Julia Child's recipes.  The dinners are available only by pre-order on the Southwest website www.swmusic.org or at (800) 726-7147 when you order your concert tickets.  To view the menus, click here.

 

The August concerts include mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzman, dan bau virtuoso Vân Ánh Vanessa Võ and the Southwest players in works by Võ, Pham Minh Thành, Falla, more Debussy, Ravel, Milhaud, and, to close the festival, a selection of songs made famous by Edith Piaf.

 

"This is our 19th summer at The Huntington" said Southwest artistic director Jeff von der Schmidt.  "These summer concerts are now an expected summer tradition and are regarded by many as the most elegant and beautiful combination of music, location, dining or picnicking in southern California. This summer's program is perfect summer fare: luscious chamber works of French and French-influenced composers with a few surprises thrown in. Southwest makes the concerts enjoyable for both novice and aficionado."

 

The full summer season is listed here.  For musicians' bios, click here.

 Concert Information and Listing   

Summer Festival at The Huntington  

 

Huntington Dusk 

Concerts take place on the Loggia of The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino

 

Tea Room Dinners by advance reservation only.

 

Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

 

For tickets or information, www.swmusic.org or 

1-800-726-7147

 

Saturday, July 14 and Sunday, July 15

 

Claude Debussy - Danse sacrée et profane

Click here for brochure

André Jolivet - Chant du Linos  

Maurice Ravel - Introduction and Allegro 

Claude Debussy - String Quartet

 

Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29

 

Claude Debussy - Suite bergamasque

Darius Milhaud - La création du monde
Maurice Ravel - Chansons madécasses
César Franck - Quintet for Piano & Strings

 
Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12


Claude Debussy - 
Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp

Pham Minh Thành - Ascending Dragon
Vân Ánh Vanessa Võ- Water Puppet Songs
Maurice Ravel - String Quartet

 
Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, August 26


Maurice Ravel - 
Ma mère l'oye for piano four hands

Claude Debussy - Petite Suite for piano four hands

Manuel de Falla - Siete canciones populares españolas
Darius Milhaud - Le bœuf sur le toit for piano four hands
Louiguy-Piaf - La vie en rose (song medley)   

  

  

 

Painting in the poster at right: Frederick Carl Frieseke, Woman Seated in a Garden, 1914. Oil on canvas. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation.

Location, Parking and Tickets
 

Location 

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place at the Loggia at The Huntington Library.
No children under 8 years of age will be admitted. Handicapped access is available. A limited portion of the grounds adjacent to the Tea Room and Loggia are open for Summer Festival patrons before the concert.


Lawn ticket holders can bring their own picnic and enjoy it under the stars. Pre-concert
dinners at The Huntington Tea room are also available to concert-ticket holders only. Dinner reservations can be made online or phone 800-726-7147 through Southwest Chamber Music when tickets are purchased.
 

The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, just south of Pasadena and only 15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles. Entrance is on Allen Avenue, south of the Orlando Road gate.  

 
Parking is included in the price of admission.


Tickets

Subscriptions to four concerts with Loggia Seating are $162 per person, a savings of 10% off the single ticket price. Single Loggia tickets are $45 per person. Subscriptions to four concerts with Lawn Admission are $100 per person, also a 10% savings off the single ticket price. Single Lawn tickets are $28 per person. Loggia and Lawn tickets are unreserved festival seating. Lawn admission ticket holders must provide own blanket or lawn chair for seating. Student Rush lawn admission tickets are available on the day of the concert for only $10.

  

For more information, www.swmusic.org or call 1-800-726-7147 
(please use this number in all published materials).
Performers

Huntington Group Photo compressed
Performers for the 2012 Summer Festival at The Huntington include:  Alison Bjorkedal, harp; Jim Foschia, clarinet; Lorenz Gamma, violin; Suzanna Guzmán, soprano; Peter Jacobson, cello; Elissa Johnston, soprano; Larry Kaplan, flute; Jan Karlin, viola; Genevieve Lee, piano; Tom Peters, double bass; Ming Tsu, piano; Lynn Vartan, percussion; Shalini Vijayan, violin; Vân Ánh Vanessa Võ, dan bau; Jeff von der Schmidt, conductor. For biographies of the performers, please visit www.swmusic.org/about_us/musicians.

 

Southwest Chamber Music

638 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 201

Pasadena, CA 91101-2006

626.685.4455

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