Santa Maria Philharmonic Society

Notes

Volume 15 Number 4 April 5, 2016

Our 16th Season bringing live classical music to the Santa Maria Valley

Board President Jed Bebbe introduces Michael

Nowak at a press briefing on March 25, 2016

Maestro Michael Nowak will take the baton

The Santa Maria Philharmonic Board of Directors is

excited and pleased to announce that Maestro Michael

Nowak has been engaged to conduct the orchestra and

serve as Music Director for the 2016-2017 Season. Mr.

Nowak is currently the Director of the newly formed

Novo Orchestra in San Luis Obispo County and

previously served for many years as Director of the San

Luis Obispo Symphony. He brings thorough training,

having studied viola with William Primrose at Indiana

University, and years of experience as a recording

musician in Hollywood. His movie credits include

directing music for the films, Life of Pi, The Kite

Runner, and King Kong, among lots of others. He plans

to open the Philharmonic's coming season on September

24th with piano virtuoso Robert Edward Thies as soloist

in the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto. The Board is

tremendously thankful that a musician of Maestro

Nowak's caliber is available to fill the critical role of

Music Director.

Former Music Director John Farrer will remain in an

honored position as Conductor Emeritus and has

expressed his willingness to consult and serve as needed.

The Board is deeply appreciative of his long association

with the Santa Maria Philharmonic from its earliest days

of reorganization to the present. Maestro Farrer has

moved to Fort Worth, Texas, as his new base of

operations from which he continues to serve as President

of the American Conductors Guild and direct a number

of orchestras. He was recently honored by the Regents of

the California State Universities with an honorary

doctorate. He conducted over 50 concerts for the

- Continued on page 3

Volume 15 Number 4 PAGE 2 April 5 , 2016

A Peek Behind the Scenes: Meet Janet Hillson

Although working only part-time for now, Janet is a

welcome addition to the Philharmonic Society as our

General Manager.

Janet Hillson was raised in New Jersey not far from

New York City. Her exposure to the variety of culture and

art in the big city led her to a degree in Art History from

Arizona State University. She has spent her entire

working career in the non-profit arts world beginning at

The Jewish Museum in New York.

Desiring to be away from the

snow and cold, Janet returned

to Arizona to assist the

curators at The Phoenix Art

Museum, where she eventually

became the Assistant Registrar.

Continuing to move west, she was

the Registrar at The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in

Santa Ana, CA. The highlight of her tenure at the Bowers

was to bring an exhibition of 350 objects from the

Forbidden City in Beijing China to Santa Ana. Following

the Bowers position, Janet was the Associate Registrar for

the Permanent Collection at The Los Angeles County

Museum of Art. Janet has lived on the beautiful Central

Coast for the past ten years and has managed to continue

her love of working within the art world at the Friends of

Hearst Castle and most recently as the Operations and

Personnel Manager for Festival Mozaic, based in San Luis

Obispo. In her leisure time, Janet enjoys gardening,

walking the beach in Morro Bay, cooking, and traveling.

As Dr. Marcus Engleman observed in his program

notes for the Night at the Opera concert on February 27,

2016, “Since its inception in the early 17th Century,

Opera was one of the first types of secular art music that

could be enjoyed by a portion of the general public

outside of a narrow group of aristocrats.” Soloists and

rousing overtures brought the audience to its feet

throughout the night with a the mix of opera favorites and

famous Broadway show tunes performed under the

direction of Maestro Brian Asher Alhadeff.

George Majoue provided history

and context in his narration.

Night at the Opera is a

Night to Remember

Jessica Mirshak, Mezzo

Soprano, and Gabriel

Manro, Baritone, part of

the quartet from Rigoletto

Baritone Gabriel Manro

was a showman

delivering well-known

solos from South Pacific,

Carmen, and more

Dancer Michelle

McLaughlin added

visual power to the

duet in The Pearl

Fishers

Soprano Katharine

Gunnink sang from

Carousel and

Tänhausser

Volume 15 Number 4 PAGE 3 April 5, 2016

New Music Director Named – continued from page 1

Philharmonic over his long tenure, and at least as many

concert programs for children. His contribution to

building the quality of the orchestra over the years has

been remarkable and will remain an enduring legacy.

Thanks are owed as well to the other Guest Conductors

who have served to make the last three seasons

wonderful musical experiences. They are James

Riccardo, Brian Asher Alhadeff and Greg Magie. James

Riccardo will conduct the final concert of the present

season at Grace Baptist Church on April 16, 2016 in a

program of music for strings and woodwinds. He

previously performed as violin soloist and conductor in

the Four Seasons, and created and conducted two

marvelous chamber music programs for the past two

seasons. Brian Alhadeff directed the memorable Pops

Internationale concert with the Allan Hancock Choir and

the recent Night at the Opera concert as well as

inaugurating a new children's program of Nutcracker

music this last December. He is currently serving as

Music Director for both Opera SLO and the Lompoc

Pops and will be directing this season's Peter and the

Wolf concerts. Greg Magie directed the delightful

December Brass and Organ Concert with Choir this

season and continues to be Director of the Symphony of

the Vines Orchestra and Choir Director at St. Andrew

Methodist Church.

While the Philharmonic has been immeasurably

fortunate in its musical leadership these last sixteen

seasons, we are particularly excited to have Maestro

Nowak lead us forward throughout the whole of the

coming season and to be an active presence in the

community. As was previously announced he will be

supported in his efforts not only by the Board of

Directors but also by a new General Manager, Janet

Hillson, who will help with the many logistical details of

concert events and the vitally important task of fund-

raising. Janet comes to the Philharmonic with a

background in assisting with SLO's Festival Mozaic and

a passion for the arts. With this team in place, and the

support of the community, we are confident the Santa

Maria Philharmonic is ready to take its next great step

forward.

Season Concludes with

Chamber Concert Experience fascinating sounds of music from around

the world with works by Bartók, Prokofiev, Dvořák, and

Wagner! Conductor James Riccardo closes the Santa

Maria Philharmonic season in this captivating concert of

Chamber Music for Strings and Winds on April 16,

2016, at 7:30 pm at Grace Baptist Church. A small

orchestra of 33 strings and woodwinds will create a

sound that is both intimate and powerful. Music by

Hungarian composer Béla Bartók will open the program

with a suite of dances based on Rumanian folk melodies,

with haunting melodies and swirling rhythms from the

region of Transylvania. Multifaceted talents of

Conductor James Riccardo will be revealed in a new

composition of his own, Arioso.

- Continued on page 4

Under the direction of

at GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH

Volume 15 Number 4 PAGE 4 April 5, 2016

Chamber Concert - Continued from Page 3

www.santamariaphilharmonic.org

To Join, to Donate, to Buy Tickets, or for Information

PO Box 375

Santa Maria, CA 93456-0375

Messages: 805-925-0412

E-mail us: info@santamariaphilharmonic.org

Santa Maria Philharmonic Society

The extraordinary work Siegfried Idyll by German

composer Richard Wagner is untypical in its size and

scope. Wagner is known for his

massive scoring of orchestral and

operatic works, while this is an

intimate chamber work written

as a birthday present for his wife

Cosimo. Overture on Hebrew

Themes by Russian composer

Serge Prokofiev, will feature

a prominent clarinet part with

its dancing rhythms typical

of Klezmer music. The program

will close with Serenade in E,

by Czech composer Antonin Dvořák. Said to have been

composed in less than two weeks, this piece is one of the

most popular chamber works for strings. Don’t miss this

exciting close to the SMPS season!

Save the date of Monday, June 13, 2016, for the

Annual Meeting of the members of the Santa Maria

Philharmonic Society. You will be briefed on the

highlights of the 2015-16 Season and provided more

information about our plans for 2016-17 with Maestro

Nowak. The Annual Meeting is an evening of good food

and good music and good news about the Philharmonic!

Annual Meeting

of the Membership

Guest conductor

James Riccardo