Our December concert offers works rarely heard at holiday time: some Bach, some Howard Hanson, a new work by David Rackley; and Jingle Them Bells, a fun holiday mash-up by today’s pre-eminent woman band composer, Julie Giroux. Cuesta faculty vocalist Alba Franco-Cancèl delights with O Holy Night, and everybody joins in on the traditional carol sing-along.
Johan do Meij’s Symphony No. 1, Lord of the Rings, isn’t from the films you know, but this mammoth master work dramatically evokes Tolkien’s mammoth tale, and is our season’s center piece. A warm Carolyn Bremer work opens the concert, and SLO Winds shares the evening with the Cuesta Wind Ensemble.
The season finale offers a rich variety of era and style, from Beethoven (1809) to Grainger (1920) to Danyew (2018). You’ll enjoy Cal Poly’s Meredith Brammeier’s folksy Stitches in Time, and the virtuoso Rudolf Budginas caps the season with Gershwin’s masterpiece Piano Concerto in F.
