THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR AUGUST 1-7

THURSDAY 8/1
Inspired by Nature: An Evening of Music and Art

In a rare performance outside of California, the Song of Angels (SOA) Flute Orchestra presents a concert complementing original paintings by world-renowned wildlife artist Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen (his “Hippopotamus & Nile Softshells” is pictured). Los Angeles-based SOA is the only flute ensemble in the world with a low flute section that includes a double contrabass flute, one of only four in existence. As the lowest pitched metal flute in the world, this instrument has the ability to bring a soft lilting, as well as more powerful tones.

Under the baton of Charles Fernandez, the concert features soloists Michelle Brest van Kempen on flute and tenor Egan C. Carroll. Along with audience favorites, the program features two world premieres: “Forest Stories” by Charles Fernandez and “Land of the Arctic Fire” by Jonathan Cohen.

Exploring the rich variety of nature, Brest van Kempen’s paintings offer visual storytelling. “I deeply appreciate the amazing detail of wildlife Carel exhibits in his work,” Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International, says. “I had to look twice at several of his works to be sure they were not photographs.”

A tranquil finale to a summer day, minus the sizzling heat, this special combo of music and art is a chance to get lost in the many moods of the flute while immersed in nature. “As the poet captures the beauty of life in his golden words which seem to stop time,” SOA founder Frederick Staff says, “Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra seeks to bring healing and beauty to a suffering world.” (Colette A. Finney)

Inspired by Nature: An Evening of Music and Art @ Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, Aug. 1, 7 p.m.

Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen

Spring Sensations | San Diego Flute Guild Spring Festival

The next Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concert, SPRING SENSATION, is at the San Diego Spring Flute Festival, April 19th at 11 a.m. at San Diego State University School of Music and Dance, located at 5550 Campanile Dr., San Diego 92182. Please click here for parking information.

Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra Conductor Charles Fernandez is a well-known and established composer and orchestrator for film, television and the concert hall, including Disney, MGM and Artisan films, plus several Disney television series. He will lead the group in a variety of works including Parry’s Lady Radnor’s Suite, his original work, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and Ernst Bloch’s Prayer from a Jewish Life with Frederick Staff, Founder of the SOA Flute Orchestra, performing solo flute. James Galway, in his masterclass exclaimed to Frederick Staff, “Samson, where did you get such an enormous sound?”

The concert will also feature Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits with Special Flute Soloist, Jean Ferrandis, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and close with J. S. Bach’s Air on a G String as the Finale open to all Festival flutists. French flute soloist and conductor Jean Ferrandis enjoys an international career that takes him throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Leonard Bernstein was so impressed by his 1987 performance of the adagio from Mozart’s D major concerto that he remarked “It is Pan himself!” and subsequently composed a cadenza for Mr. Ferrandis. He has presented recitals, performed chamber music, and appeared as soloist with orchestras in the most prestigious concert halls in the world under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Tibor Varga, Laurent Petitgirard, and Yoram David. His appearances at the 2006 National Flute Association convention in Pittsburgh, an event attended by three thousand flutists, included a gala headliner concert in Heinz Hall and a master class. Jean Ferrandis unanimously received his first prize from the Lyon Conservatoire, where he studied with Maxence Larrieu. A prize winner at such as international competitions as Munich, Barcelona, and The Young Concert Artists in New York, he was awarded the grand prize at the 1986 Prague Spring Festival International Flute Competition.

Admission to the concert is $20/person for SDFG members and $30/person for non-members. Parking is $3 for SDFG guests, and must be purchased by April 1st or the rate is $15 at the door. To view excerpts from previous Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concerts, go to www.soafluteorchestra.com/videos/. For details on the concert, contact Frederick Staff, Founder and Artistic Director of the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra at 323.823.1078.

All Souls’ Day Concert | Nov. 2nd 2014

The next Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concert in Los Angeles, ALL SOULS’ DAY, will be held on Sunday, November 2nd at 4:00 p.m. at St. James’ Church in the City. The Church is located at 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90010.  (Check www.saintjamesla.org for directions/parking under “Come Join Us.”)  In her review of the orchestra’s Live at St. James in the City CD, Eugenia Zukerman, Classical Music Correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, wrote “The ensemble is beautifully balanced and plays with elegance and beauty. Concertmaster Frederick Staff’s tone is rich and warm as he leads this group of superb players…Samuel Barber’s iconic ‘Adagio for Strings’ is even more powerful played by Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra. Somehow the resonance of the flutes’ sonorities brings out the poignance and visceral pain of loss one senses listening to this great work.”

Conductor Charles Fernandez will lead the group in a variety of works including J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #4,  Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Greensleeves,  Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre and Ernst Bloch’s Prayer from a Jewish Life with David Shostac performing solo flute. Mr. Fernandez is a well-known and established composer and orchestrator for film, television and the concert hall, including Disney, MGM and Artisan films plus several Disney television series. Mr. Fernandez will also be conducting his original work, Elegy for Oboe. It is the 2nd movement of Mr. Fernandez¹s Oboe Concerto, dedicated to the memory of his father with solo performance by Lisa Febre, oboist and member of the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra.  Lisa is a graduate of Ithaca College and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Oboe Performance.  She has played on several movie and television scores, in particular, the hit TV series “Smallville.” The concert will conclude with Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.

David Shostac, Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, will perform as solo flutist in his own arrangements of both the Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and the Godard Waltz, accompanied on both pieces by the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra.  An alumnus of Juilliard and Tanglewood and recipient of two Rockefeller performance grants, David is also a relative of the great Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich. A former member of the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, Shostac also performed with the Boston Symphony (Seiji Ozawa, Erich Leinsdorf and Eugene Ormandy), LA Philharmonic (Zubin Mehta) and took part in the Ojai, Mostly Mozart, Aspen and Oregon Bach festivals.  In reviewing his recent Vivaldi CD, Eugenia Zukerman wrote “Shostac’s range of colors, his embellishments and his gorgeous tone are simply astonishing.”

Free-will donations for the concert are gratefully accepted.  Video excerpts of Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concerts can be viewed at www.soafluteorchestra.com/videos/. For details on the concert, please contact Frederick Staff, Founder and Artistic Director of the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra at 323.823.1078.

June Romance Concert | June 8th 2014, Emmanuel Lutheran Church

The next Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concert in Los Angeles, JUNE ROMANCE, will be held on Sunday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 6020 Radford Ave. (Corner of Oxnard and Radford,) No. Hollywood, CA 91606 (Phone: 818-761-6124) (Click MapQuest for directions; parking at the church is Free!) The concert will feature well-known LA flutist Heather Clark as guest flute soloist and a new composition by Ladd McIntosh. Suite for Flute Orchestra – Diffusion and Light was written by Mr. McIntosh expressly for the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra and will be conducted by the composer himself. Ladd McIntosh is the lead orchestrator for Harry Gregson-Williams and has worked on 125 films as an orchestrator.

In addition, the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra will be performing a variety of works led by Charles Fernandez, orchestra conductor. Mr. Fernandez is a well-known composer and orchestrator for film, television, and the concert hall. June’s program includes Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances (Arr. by Francine Ross Pancost,) Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto in D Major Op. 11, No. 3 “Il Cardellino,” (Arr. by D. Shostac,) Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Mozart’s Symphony #25, Allegro, Debussy’s Syrinx and Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits. There will also be a performance of Paganini’s Variations for ContraBasses (Arr. by Gordon Halligan) featuring Gordon Halligan, Fred Selden (Contrabass Flutes) and Roger Greene (Double Contrabass Clarinet.)

In her review of the orchestra’s Live at St. James in the City CD, Eugenia Zukerman, Classical Music Correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, wrote “The ensemble is beautifully balanced and plays with elegance and beauty. Concertmaster Frederick Staff’s tone is rich and warm as he leads this group of superb players…Samuel Barber’s iconic ‘Adagio for Strings’ is even more powerful played by Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra. Somehow the resonance of the flutes’ sonorities brings out the poignance and visceral pain of loss one senses listening to this great work.”

Heather Clark is the Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (2003) and the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (1995.) Ms. Clark will perform as featured flutist in the Vivaldi Flute Concerto in D Major Op. 11, No. 3 “Il Cardellino”, Debussy’s Syrinx and Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits with the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra. An alumnus of USC, she was awarded First Prize at the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition in 1994. Ms. Clark is one of LA’s most sought-after flutists and can be heard on over 100 motion picture soundtracks including “Rio,” “War Horse,” “Tin Tin,” and “Men in Black 3” and with a variety of recording artists including Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Flea, and Carrie Underwood.

Admission is FREE with all donations received going to the Emmanuel Lutheran Church who hosts this concert and provides rehearsal space for the orchestra year-round gratis! To view excerpts from previous Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concerts go to www.soafluteorchestra.com/videos/. For details on the concert, please contact Frederick Staff, Founder and Artistic Director of the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra at 323.687.8747.

Spring Flowers Concert | April 13, 2014 Rancho Palos Verdes

Marymount California University presents the debut performance of the Flauti Virtuosi di Los Angeles on Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 4:30 p.m., in a combined program with Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra at the Marymount California University Chapel, 30800 Palos Verdes Drive E. in Ranchos Palos Verdes, 90275. (Check http://www.marymountcalifornia.edu for directions/parking under “Maps and Transportation.”) This Spring Flowers combined concert will also mark the debut appearance of Charles Fernandez, recently appointed conductor of the orchestra. Mr. Fernandez is a well-known and established composer and orchestrator for film, television, and the concert hall, including Disney, MGM and Artisan films plus several Disney television series.

Flauti Virtuosi will perform the Bozza Jour d’ete a la Montagne and the Ravel String Quartet in F major arranged for four flutes by David Shostac. The new group is led by Mr. Shostac, Artist in Residence at the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra, with Frederick Staff, Founder and Artistic Director of both organizations, Alto Flute, Francine Pancost, Bass Flute and Gordon Halligan, Contrabass Flute.

David Shostac, Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, will perform as featured flutist in his own arrangement of both the Ravel String Quartet in F major and the Saint Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra in A minor. An alumnus of Juilliard and Tanglewood and recipient of two Rockefeller performance grants, David is also a relative of the great Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich. A former member of the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, Shostac also performed with the Boston Symphony (Seiji Ozawa, Erich Leinsdorf and Eugene Ormandy), LA Philharmonic (Zubin Mehta) and took part in the Ojai, Mostly Mozart, Aspen and Oregon Bach festivals. In reviewing his recent Vivaldi CD, Eugenia Zukerman wrote “Shostac’s range of colors, his embellishments and his gorgeous tone are simply astonishing.”

The Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra will be performing Mozart’s Symphony #25, Allegro, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Saint Saens’ Introduction, Rondo and Capriccioso. In her review of the orchestra’s Live at St. James in the City CD, Ms. Zukerman wrote “The ensemble is beautifully balanced and plays with elegance and beauty. Concertmaster Frederick Staff’s tone is rich and warm as he leads this group of superb players.”

Admission is FREE although all donations are gratefully received! These will help fund a double contrabass flute ($8,000) for the orchestra! To view excerpts from previous Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra concerts go to www.soafluteorchestra.com/videos/. For details on the concert, please contact Frederick Staff, Founder and Artistic Director of the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra at 323.687.8747.

“Winter Dreams” Concert with David Shostac and Eugenia Zukerman

Join the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra, conducted by Michael Armstrong, at their first concert of the New Year on Sunday February 23, 2014 at 4:30pm, St. James’ in the City at 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. This winter’s concert will premiere a composition by Ladd McIntosh, Suite for Flute Orchestra, written specifically for the Song of the Angels Flute Orchestra and conducted by the composer himself. Ladd McIntosh, the lead orchestrator for Harry Gregson-Williams, has worked on 125 films as an orchestrator.

Featured on this winter concert will be David Shostac, Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and acclaimed movie recording artist. Shostac will dazzle you with his performance of Saint-Saens’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” (originally for violin) and will also be presenting his arrangements of some other very exciting pieces.

Eugenia Zukerman, acclaimed flutist, international artist and Arts Correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, will also be a featured soloist in this concert performing “Poem” by Charles Griffes. Ms. Zukerman will also join Shostac in a performance of Shostac’s arrangement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto in D minor. This is a collaboration you won’t want to miss! In reviewing the Vivaldi CD, Ms. Zukerman wrote “Shostac’s range of colors, his embellishments and his gorgeous tone are simply astonishing.”

In addition to the presentations with the featured soloists the Song of the Angels Orchestra will also be performing Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Vaughn Williams’ Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

We look forward to seeing you at the concert!

Recommended donation for a concert ticket is $20 (Students: $15).

www.soafluteorchestra.com
www.eugeniazukerman.com
www.davidshostac.com

FREE Concert at Emmanuel Lutheran in N. Hollywood

Sunday, June 9, 2013
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
6020 Radford Ave
N. Hollywood, CA 91606

On the Program:
Bach Prelude in G
Handel Harp Concerto in Bb Major (Mvmt 1)
Barber Adagio for Strings
Debussy Afternoon of a Faun
Due Due Dong
Jungle Fantasy

Featuring soloists David Shostac, Flute and Autumn Ramey, Harp

Flyer PDF available here: Song of the Angels at Emmanuel Lutheran June 9, 2013