Royal Scottish National Orchestra Presents LA Premiere Of Danny Elfman Concerto At The Soraya

Danny Elfman's new violin concerto, Eleven Eleven, will be performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by its music director Thomas S nderg rd. Violinist Sandy Cameron performs the solo, as she did for the world premiere and for its first recording with this orchestra.

The program which includes Sibelius Symphony No. 7, Op. 105, C major and the Prokofiev Symphony No. 5, Op. 100, B-flat major, will be on Thursday, April 4 at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya). Elfman is revered worldwide for his film work over three decades, beginning with his first score on Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure; he has since scored over 100 films. His most recent work is for the Tim Burton film Dumbo for Disney, and The Grinch for Universal.

Elfman said, "I need to push myself into new territory with fresh challenges as much as I can and whenever I can. I am told I have a recognizable style but my greatest pleasure is when I can surprise the audience with my music."

Eleven Eleven started when Elfman was in Prague for a symphonic concert of the music he composed for Tim Burton's films. Sandy Cameron was the soloist for the cadenza from Edward Scissorhands. It was then suggested to Elfman that he write a concerto for Cameron.

Elfman then went on a an exhaustive study listening to composers including Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, whose violin concerto is a touchstone. So much of it is music that I could never play for my family they'd just be mystified by it, he said to the San Jose Mercury News. I started wondering: 'Why is it necessarily that way?' In the past, classical music was written so anybody could hear it and appreciate it. I was trying to find a way of bridging that weird gap. It's kind of normal for me to get a challenge a throw-down and go 'Sure!' And then later go 'Who said that? Was it my doppelganger or me?' It was a process of education and assimilation.

He continued, I wrote lots of ideas. I probably started with an hour and 20 minutes of music and kind of whittled it down I know I'm stepping into this other world, but that's what I'm used to. The thing that fueled me for my first 15 years as a composer was the hostility I got from my own peers. I understood I came from nowhere and I was upsetting the apple cart. What I realized was that that negative energy was great fuel this is like Part Four of my career, and I'm excited about the possibilities.

Thor Steingraber, Executive Director for The Soraya, said It's an honor to host the Los Angeles premiere of Danny Elfman's Eleven Eleven for Violin and Orchestra, performed by such an exceptional ensemble. Elfman is a revered and prolific member of our Los Angeles community, and as he commences yet another chapter in his vast creative output, we are proud to share this piece with our audience and his fans."

Eleven Eleven for Violin and Orchestra was co-commissioned by Prague Proms, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Stanford Live, and composed for violinist Sandy Cameron, who gave the premiere in Prague in June 2017.

Cameron was joined by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and John Mauceri for both the Prague performance and the German premiere at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. The Concerto received its United States premiere on March 10-11, 2018 with the Stanford University Symphony in California, before the Royal Scottish National Orchestra gave the UK premiere in Glasgow in June. The RSNO has recorded the piece for Sony Classical with Sandy Cameron and conduced by Mauceri, paired with Elfman's Piano Quartet; it is available digitally on March 22 and on CD on April 5.

In September 2018, JoAnn Falletta brought Eleven Eleven to the Virginia Symphony with Cameron as soloist. The Virginia Gazette said, Inspired by the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1, [Danny] Elfman's concerto is dramatic, lyrical, highly rhythmic, percussive (especially given its unusual cadenza-like back and forth between the violin and percussion), thoughtful and playful. The score is high adrenaline business, taking us on a musical roller coaster ride from the heights to the sudden-drop depth of emotions the physical and emotional energy she [violin soloist Sandy Cameron] put into the work was downright compelling, exciting and extraordinary The reception given her [Ms. Cameron] was wild and crazy and prolonged, of the sort found at sports event.

Since the premiere of the Violin Concerto, Elfman has written and premiered a piano quartet which was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet.

Single tickets start at $49. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit The Soraya or call 818-677-3000. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330. Ticket prices subject to change.

For over 30 years, four-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. He has collaborated with directors such as Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, Rob Minkoff, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, James Ponsoldt and David O. Russell. Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton's Pee- wee's Big Adventure, Elfman has scored over 100 films, including: Milk (Oscar nominated), Good Will Hunting (Oscar nominated), Big Fish (Oscar nominated), Men in Black (Oscar nominated), Edward Scissorhands, Batman, To Die For, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spiderman, A Simple Plan, Midnight Run, Sommersby, Dolores Claiborne, and the Errol Morris documentaries The Unknown Known, and Standard Operating Procedure. Most recently he has provided the music for Warner Bros. Justice League, and Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry He Won't Get Far On Foot. He is currently working on the upcoming Tim Burton film Dumbo for Disney, and The Grinch for Universal.

A native of Los Angeles, Elfman grew up loving film music. He travelled the world as a young man, absorbing its musical diversity. He helped found the band Oingo Boingo, and came to the attention of a young Tim Burton, who asked him to write the score for Pee-wee's Big Adventure. 34 years later, the two have forged one of the most fruitful composer-director collaborations in film history. In addition to his film work, Elfman wrote the iconic theme music for the television series The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives.

Elfman has expanded his writing to composing orchestral concert works which include: Serenada Schizophrana, a symphony commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2005; Rabbit and Rogue, for the American Ballet Theater choreographed by Twyla Tharp, performed at The Metropolitan Opera house in 2008; and Iris for Cirque du Soleil directed by French choreographer Philippe Decoufl . In 2011, Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton live orchestral concert premiered at the Royal Albert Hall, and has since toured around the world and won two Emmys.

In 2017 Elfman premiered his first Violin Concerto in Prague, which was performed by Sandy Cameron with John Mauceri and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, his first Piano Quartet commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet premiered as part of a US tour by the group. Both works will be released on a Sony Classical album in 2019.

Sandy Cameron was introduced to Elfman when she performed in the orchestra of the long running Cirque du Soleil show IRIS at the Kodak (now Dolby) Theatre 2011-2013. She has also performed Tan Dun's Martial Arts Trilogy, toured with trumpeter-composer Chris Botti, was featured in Austin Wintory's score to the video game Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, and had solos at the Hollywood Bowl in live concerts of Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton, Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas Live in Concert, Disney's The Little Mermaid Live in Concert, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Live in Concert.

Declared brilliant by the Washington Post, violinist Sandy Cameron is one of the most strikingly unique artists of her generation. Since her debut at the age of 12 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Cameron has performed extensively as a soloist and recitalist throughout North America, Europe, and Korea. At 15, Sandy was a featured guest at the famed White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg, Austria, and at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. She has toured North America with renowned conductor Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra, and made other solo appearances with orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Most recently, Cameron was a performer in Cirque du Soleil's Los Angeles based show, IRIS, and is a featured soloist in Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton concerts.

Cameron has earned numerous awards and honors, including the title of Presidential Scholar, and graduated from Harvard University ('09) and New England Conservatory ('10). A firm believer in giving back to the community, Cameron created her own Music Benefit Fund in 2004, which provided funding for musical education and activity in the schools and community of Poolesville, MD, and continues to participate in a number of charity events.

The outstanding violin used by Cameron, crafted by Pietro Guarnerius of Venice, c. 1735, is on extended loan through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Generously sponsored by Colburn Foundation.

Calendar Listing for Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Thomas S nderg rd, Music Director | Danny Elfman, Composer | Sandy Cameron, Violin

Sibelius Symphony No. 7, Op. 105, C major
Elfman Eleven Eleven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Prokofiev Symphony No. 5, Op. 100, B-flat major


Prices: Starting at $49. Prices subject to change.
By Phone: (818) 677-3000
Online: TheSoraya.org