Reviews

It's been a busy summer on the Monterey Peninsula, including such high-profile events as the U.S. Women's Open in Pebble Beach, the Carmel Bach Festival, and the recently concluded Car Week. With September comes our best weather and a gentle shift to the rhythms of autumn. And the new music seasons begin!

Symphony love letter

The Monterey Symphony presents its popular late summer "Love Letter" pops program at the outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel, also now for Salinas patrons at the city's Sherwood Hall.  Billed as an evening of beloved movie tunes, the orchestra will be led by associate conductor Brad Hogarth as a "Love Letter to Hollywood."  Famous scores by Henry Mancini, John Williams, Lalo Schifrin and others will be performed, including an arrangement of Cinema Paradiso for solo violin and orchestra featuring concertmaster Christina Mok.

The program will be presented next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Forest Theater at 6:30 p.m. and at Sherwood Hall on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. For many years, the Symphony performed the concerts of its annual subscription season in Salinas but stopped the Sherwood Hall offerings in 2018.

Nicola Reilly, the organization's president and CEO, says "We're so excited to present our third year of concerts at Forest Theater and our return to Sherwood Hall with this fun and engaging program. We'd love to see everyone come out in their best costumes from any of the fabulous movies featured – it will be simply magical."

Prizes will be given for the best outfits.

The Symphony's new subscription season has been announced, a series of programs whose titles pay homage to spectacular natural settings of our region, among them Ventana, Loma Prieta, Santa Lucia and Pinnacles. Music director Jayce Ogren looks to have created another lively and engaging concert cycle for this season, which I will feature in a future column. In the meantime, for tickets to the "Love Letter" concerts and more information see www.montereysymphony.org or call 831-646-8511.