Bay Area Virtuoso Leads Conductor-Less FOUR SEASONS

Following a critically acclaimed season opener, California Symphony and Music Director Donato Cabrera present a line-up of illustrious works in FOUR SEASONS, an all-strings concert at the Lesher Center for the Arts (1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek) on Saturday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 7 at 4:00 p.m.

Violinist and Bay Area native Alexi Kenney headlines the concerts with a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, returning to perform with the California Symphony after an acclaimed 2018 debut and a 2020 virtual Season Finale recital. Named by The New York Times as "a talent to watch," Kenney has earned wide-spread acclaim for his insightful and artistic interpretations and range, often melding the new with the old, the familiar with the obscure.

Single tickets are $44-$74 and $20 (for students 25 and under with valid Student ID). Audiences must be fully vaccinated per California Symphony and Lesher Center Health and Safety Policy. For more information or to purchase tickets, the public may visit CaliforniaSymphony.org or call the Lesher Center Ticket Office at (925) 943-7469 (open Wed - Sun, noon to 6:00 p.m.).

Other featured works on the FOUR SEASONS program include George Walker's Lyric for Strings. Dedicated to the memory of his grandmother, Walker's hauntingly beautiful Lyric for Strings is full of rising and falling melodic lines, concluding somberly yet with a sense of peace. A notable figure in the music community, Walker was the first African American composer to win a Pulitzer Prize. Also on the program is Jessie Montgomery's Starburst, a brief one-movement work that plays on imagery of rapidly changing musical colors.

One of the most remarkable composers of her generation, Montgomery has been affiliated since 1999 with The Sphinx Organization, which supports young African American and Latinx string players. Schubert's Death and the Maiden (arr. by Mahler) ties the evening together, exploring the range of human emotions, from dark to positive and optimistic.

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