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Music is not merely sound. It's something more. It CONNECTS us. It becomes us. Music makes us laugh, cry and dance. It reminds us of wonderful yesterdays, and gives us hope for better tomorrows. We fall in love, and CONQUER milestones, all with music. Music DEFINES generations and gives meaning to a moment. And when it's great, it deserves to be heard LIVE!

The Mariposa Symphony Orchestra performs in the Mariposa County High School Feister Auditorium. On occasion, the dates selected for a performance must be changed to insure that Mariposa High School students are served as our community's first priority. You are encouraged to send an e-mail to mso@sti.net in order to receive automatically confirmed concert information as soon as it's available, contact the Arts Council office at (209) 966-3155 or info@arts-mariposa.org.

Solemn, Festive, Joyous, Giddy: Music

If only all 365 days could possess those qualities that make this time of year so special: thoughts of sharing, gifting, the well-being of others, humanity, caring. I've selected music for this year's Festive Holiday Concert of your Mariposa Symphony Orchestra that really brings those feelings to musical life. Mark your calendars now for Saturday, December 19 at 7:00 in the Fiester Auditorium of Mariposa County High School for your annual holiday musical treat.

The entire first half of the concert will be devoted to one amazing work: the Fifth Symphony of Felix Mendelssohn. Felix Mendelssohn was born into a very prominent, wealthy Jewish banking family in 1809 Hamburg; his grandfather was the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. There was great societal (and even legal) pressure for Jews to assimilate and for whatever reason, when young Felix was 7, the family converted and he was baptized a Lutheran. The family added -Bartholdy to the last name, though Felix didn't always use it. The kid did, however take two additional first names: Jakob Ludwig. Fortunate to have been born to both wealth and an intellectual sensibility that nurtured the fine arts, the boy was captivated by music and demonstrated astonishingly prodigious performance talents from his earliest years, comparable to that of Mozart or Beethoven.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

By the age of 8, he could play all the Beethoven symphonies from memory on the piano except for the 9th, and that one only because it hadn't yet been composed. His family helped out: for his 12th birthday, he received his very own orchestra, for which he composed assiduously! By 14, he had composed the 12 string symphonies; his first orchestral symphony at 15, the remarkable Octet at 16 and at age 17, one of the most accomplished, inspired, extraordinarily expressive and truly brilliant musical works for ANY composer, at ANY age: the Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Many musicologists consider Mendelssohn to have been the greatest child composer prodigy of all time, superior even to Mozart.

We'll also celebrate Mendelssohn's birth bicentennial as we perform this work - subtitled the "Reformation" Symphony because Mendelssohn built the entire fourth movement finale around one of the most famous and oldest tunes from the Protestant literature: "Ein feste' Burg ist unser Gott." In English: "A Mighty Fortress is our God." What Mendelssohn does with that tune (the most famous written by Martin Luther) is nothing less than stunning. It must absolutely be heard to be believed. Luther - according to the historic record - wrote the hymn in the year 1528 and based it upon Psalm 46 (‘God is our refuge and strength’.) And to mark the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830, the 21-year-old Mendelssohn composed this work - actually his second orchestral symphony but - in that great tradition of illogic demonstrated in the works of so many composers, it was numbered his last - number five. Basically working himself to death after a nearly-unbelievably accomplished career as composer, conductor, instrumentalist, musicologist - Mendelssohn died after a series of strokes and a brain hemorrhage in 1847 at age 38.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

The second half of the concert will open with the overture to Richard Wagner's only comic opera: "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." There's irony to this selection: I decided to give a rest this year to the holiday classic Overture and Dream Pantomime from Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel und Gretel" - but Humperdinck idolized Wagner, worked as amanuensis to the older man and emulated his style and substance in his own music. Thus - there's much in the Wagner piece that Humperdinck later assimilated into his own "Hansel und Gretel."

And on a more sober note, Wagner represented the very antithesis of his contemporary Mendelssohn: the (slightly older) Mendelssohn was a classicist and Wagner created a whole new movement in music that was to virtually divide the art - you were either a Wagnerian like Liszt or an anti-Wagnerian like Brahms; the battle was not pretty. And also: on a particularly ugly note: Wagner scorned Mendelssohn's Jewish heritage and constantly, viciously insulted Mendelssohn at every opportunity, before and after Mendelssohn's death. Fortunately, time has healed the rift to a certain degree and we may now listen to both composers' music with appreciation for the notes on the page and disregard the anti-Semitism that eventually made Wagner - 50 years after HIS death: the darling of the Third Reich.

But wait, there's more! We have some absolutely glorious, inspiring - and fun music for this, our best-selling annual concert. Your MSO will perform the overture and (brief) pastoral symphony from Handel's "Messiah," as re-orchestrated by Mozart (with a little additional assist from me.) You'll hear the ravishing Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" - the gorgeous, heart-rending music heard during the more violent moments in the film "Raging Bull." Our own Dr. Phil Smith's "Dr. Smith's Christmas Fantasy" will return - a great favorite with our audiences. Another seasonal treat: Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Greensleeves Fantasy" from his opera "Sir John in Love" - truly the most beautiful treatment of that tune, ever. And finally, closing the concert: yeah, that thing. You know the one. By you-know-who. And so, truly: this concert will open with the sublime and end with the ridiculous.

Intermission refreshments will be offered by the Mariposa High School Grizzly Band Boosters. The Mariposa Symphony Orchestra's annual Festive Holiday Concert will be held on Saturday, December 19 at 7:00 PM in the Fiester Auditorium of Mariposa County High School. For further information or tickets, call or visit the Mariposa County Arts Council, Inc., parent organization of the MSO at (209) 966-3155 (Monday - Friday, 9/AM-5/PM) The Arts Council Office is located at 5009 Fifth Street (adjacent to The Pizza Factory) in beautiful historic Mariposa. Tickets are offered at the MSO's always-affordable prices: $6 for adults and $4 for students; tickets are also available at the Mariposa County Visitors Center at the north end of town across from the Miners Inn; call the Visitors Center at (209) 966-7081 for hours. But do NOT miss this one: our annual treat for YOU: the greatest way to get into the holiday spirit while taking an evening's break from gift-wrapping, Christmas cards, shopping, baking - an affordable evening just for you, from YOUR Mariposa Symphony Orchestra.

December 19, 2009
7:00 pm

Tickets available at the Mariposa County Arts Council, by calling (209) 966-3155 or at the Visitor’s Center at the intersection of Hwy 140 and Hwy 49 North

Conductor
Les Marsden – a peek beyond the wand

As Actor - In a lengthy career as a Los Angeles- and Manhattan-based actor which was ended only by accident-caused disability, he starred on stage in well over 3,000 performances in theatres across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom including London's West End and Scotland's Edinburgh Festival. Roles ran the gamut from the classics to musical comedy and include Lopakhin in Chekov's The Cherry Orchard, Peter Poll in James Kirkwood's final play Stage Stuck to Touchstone in Shakespeare's As You Like It and even as all the Marx Brothers in various Marx revivals and original works. Other favorite roles included Max Prince in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! (five separate productions,) Jimmy Deegan in the celebrated (and first-ever) revival of Cole Porter's 1930 The New Yorkers in Manhattan's historic Town Hall and countless others. Nominated for the world's most prestigious acting honor, Great Britain's Laurence Olivier Award (for Comedy Performance of the Year) and many more citations including the London Critics' Award, the Carbonell, Scotland's Fringe First Award, etc. Veteran of innumerable TV commercials seen nationally and internationally and TV series such as General Hospital, Mel Brooks' The Nutt House, the Bob Newhart Show and Al Franken's Lateline. Appeared in films from Robert Redford's Quiz Show to The Siege with Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington and Annette Bening. Has worked with or directed Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jeremy Irons, Burt Reynolds, Harvey Korman, Charles Nelson Reilly, Matthew Broderick and many more. As Playwright - His A Night at Harpo's is the only biographic show ever allowed by Harpo's widow and children and was written with their full cooperation. Mr. Marsden performed his award-winning one-man show extensively around the world; likewise his interpretations of Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx in various productions was endorsed by the elderly Groucho Marx himself. Union affiliations: Actors' Equity, the Screen Actors' Guild, AFTRA, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, etc.

As Musician - classically trained on many instruments including piano (and all keyboards,) trumpet (and most all brass,) concert grand harp and others. Composed/conducted many symphonic and chamber works from early teens beginning with his Symphony #1 at age 13; most recently premiered his Mariposa Festival Overture at the inaugural concert of the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra, which he founded in 2002 and serves as Music Director and Conductor. Has also composed lighter works including the score and lyrics for the successful musical comedy The Telethon Fool. Member of the Conductor's Guild.