Livermore, CA -- The Livermore-Amador Symphony, conducted by Lara Webber, will perform its “Expressions of Youth” concert at 7:30 pm at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. The talented winners of the symphony’s annual Competition for Young Musicians, Ariel Pawlik-Zwiebel and Olivia Luan, are featured in this concert evening packed with musical inspiration and variety. Pawlik-Zwiebel will perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, 1st movement and Luan will perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, 1st movement.

The opening work will be a unique collaboration among the symphony, the Cantabella Children’s Chorus, and local Hindustani dancers, performing “Ram Tori Maya.” This work by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail premiered in 2022, and is being performed locally for the first time. Webber said, “This work is a joyful opportunity to bring our community together through music that blends artistic and cultural style traditions that are part of our Tri-Valley.”

Johannes Brahms caused a sensation with his marvelous “Academic Festival Overture,” using raucous melodies sung by students. According to Webber, “This beloved work displays both Brahms’s skill and his sense of humor. When bestowed with an honorary college degree in England, he surprised his audience by celebrating and featuring the favorite drinking songs of the students rather than the traditions of the stuffy academic elite of the day. The audience, full of students, of course, cheered upon hearing their tunes!”

The sweeping sounds of young Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Symphonic Variations on an African Air” embellish a rarely performed masterwork you won’t want to miss. Coleridge-Taylor achieved celebrity status as a black British composer while in his late 20s and early 30s in both Britain and America. Webber described him as “a great prodigious talent” and continued, “This work speaks directly to the heart and reaches the listener emotionally without any artifice or barrier. The expression and creativity of these variations on the spiritual ‘I Am Troubled in My Soul’ take us on a deeply satisfying dramatic journey.”

Date and Time: Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 pm

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., preceded by “Inside the Music”, a talk by Webber, 7–7:15. During intermission, Cantabella Children’s Chorus will perform in the lobby. After the concert, a complimentary reception will feature chocolate and local Livermore wine pairings.

Location: Bankhead Theater of the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, 2400 First Street, Livermore, CA

Tickets: https://livermoreamadorsymphony.org/tickets.html or 925-373-6800. Tickets for Youth under age 22 are always free.

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