Brilliance at the Bankhead
Gala with Ben Folds
Sat. September 10, 2022 at 5:30 p.m.
The Livermore Valley Performing Arts center presented a glamorous evening of entertainment with singer/songwriter/composer Ben Folds, accompanied by the Livermore-Amador Symphony.

 
POPS on the Green
Sat. October 15, 2022 at 3 p.m.
For the second year in a row, our annual Pops concert was al fresco on the Shea Stage in the Bankhead Plaza on an autumn afternoon. Audience members were welcome to bring a picnic or snack and enjoy the music provided by our wonderful Livermore-Amador Symphony, conducted by Lara Webber (with some very young assistants during the Washington Post March!), plus the high-schoolers of jazz band Element 116, led by Matt Finders. No need for tickets, but donations were accepted happily! As always, Pops was sponsored by the Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild, with all donations going to the Symphony.
 

Family Concert
Sat. December 3, 2022 at 3 p.m.
In coordination with the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center and in partnership with Valley Dance Theatre, the Symphony Association presents an annual free family concert at the Bankhead Theater (followed, when public health concerns permit, by an “instrument petting zoo”; no zoo this year). A short, fun-filled celebration of the holiday season in music!

 
Holiday Joy
Sat. December 3, 2022 at 8:15 p.m.

Coleridge-Taylor: Christmas Overture
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Grieg: Lyric Suite
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”

Music celebrating the season opened this concert with joy. Two English composers, Coleridge-Taylor and Vaughan Williams, brought us holiday favorites with “A Christmas Overture” and “Greensleeves.” The Nordic lyricism of Grieg led to a journey from darkness to brilliant bold light with French composer Saint-Saëns’ exhilarating and triumphant “Organ Symphony.”

Read the concert program booklet, including program notes (1.2MB pdf).

 
Violins of Hope
Sunday February 5, 2023 at 3 p.m.,
Mon. February 6 and Tues. February 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes
J. Williams: Music from Schindler’s List
Bruch: Kol Nidrei
Peter Bedrossian, solo cello
And more, including Lindsey Deutsch, solo violin

The Violins of Hope are an extraordinary collection of restored violins, violas, and cellos that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. These instruments have survived concentration camps, ghettos, pogroms, and many long journeys to tell remarkable stories of injustice, suffering, resilience and survival. Their stories were heard in concert, featuring violinist Lindsay Deutsch and cellist Peter Bedrossian with the LAS orchestra. Presented by the East Bay Holocaust Education Center.

 
Kaleidoscopic Color and Spiritual Sound
Sat. April 1, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Prelude talk 7 to 7:30 p.m.

Price: Symphony No. 1
Márquez: Danzón No. 2
Plus solos by the winners of the 2022—2023
Competition for Young Musicians:
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, 1st movement
Minna Fu, soloist
Ibert: Flute Concerto, 3rd movement
Juhye (Alice) Oh, soloist
Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1, 1st movement
Owen Sheridan, soloist

Youth jazz band Element 116 performed during intermission.

Intoxicating dance infuses the music of Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, while American composer Florence Price fuses folk song, spiritual feeling and masterful symphonic sound to touch the soul. The talented winners of our young musicians competition also were featured on this inspiring program.

Read the concert program booklet, including program notes (1.3MB pdf).

 
Drama and Fantasy, O’Conor plays Beethoven
Sat. May 20, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Prelude talk 7 to 7:30 p.m.

Mozart: Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
John O’Conor, soloist
Liadov: The Enchanted Lake
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite

Join us as we explore magical places and fantastic stories through the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Liadov, and Stravinsky. We are thrilled to welcome one of the most remarkable pianists of our time, John O’Conor, an exceptional interpreter of the music of Beethoven, in a performance of the composer’s third piano concerto. Stravinsky transports us into a haunting, beautiful and exciting fairy tale with his spectacular suite from his ballet The Firebird.

Read the concert program booklet, including program notes (1.1MB pdf).

Programs subject to change.
© Livermore-Amador Symphony Association