Orchestra Performs in SB, LA before Italy

The Westmont Orchestra performs twice in Santa Barbara and twice in the Los Angeles-area before traveling to Italy May 12-23. The Spring Orchestra Concert, which features pieces by Verdi, Vivaldi and Puccini, is Thursday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in Page Multipurpose Room at Westmont and Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $10; students are free.

“The program will include selections from Franz Josef Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’ with choir and orchestra, choral selections of contemporary American composers and orchestral selections including Tchaikovsky’s ‘Capriccio Italien,’ music from the film score for ‘Gladiator’ and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2,” says Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, who conducts the orchestra. (The Liszt piano concert, which was featured in the orchestra’s February concert, will not be performed again in Santa Barbara, but will be added to some of the tour programs.)

The performances feature solos by soprano Emmalee Wetzel, pianist Aaron Wilk and bassoonist Paul Mori, who conducts chamber ensembles and coaches the wind and brass sections for the orchestra.

The Westmont Choir joins the orchestra Sunday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Saint Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church, 6410 Palos Verdes Drive South and Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in West Valley Christian Church, 22450 Sherman Way in West Hills. Admission is free to both concerts, but donations will be welcomed to offset travel expenses for the 120 student musicians.

“This is a rare opportunity to hear the sparkling sounds of the Westmont Orchestra and Choir on tour together in the Los Angeles area,” Shasberger says.

Sixty-two student musicians, faculty and staff travel to Italy from Los Angeles on May 12. The orchestra performs in Rome, Florence, Cremona and Venice before returning to the U.S. May 23.

For more information, please call the Westmont Music Department at (805) 565-6040.