Reviews

Conductor Jayce Ogren's first season leading the Monterey Symphony concluded with a mighty program featuring John Wineglass's stunning world-premiere violin concerto and Ravel's symphonic masterwork, "Daphnis and Chloé."

The world premiere of composer-in-residence Wineglass's Big Sur piece, "Sacred Land: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" made a strong impression on the audience. It was a powerful honoring of the rugged and ancient beauty of our south coastal lands and the Esselen natives whose ancestors have dwelt here for thousands of years. There was fire and intensity, sweetness and honesty in this music, making the listeners proud to know this land and its uniqueness in the world. Violinist Edwin Huizinga played as if he rose out of the Big Sur earth itself to share its truth in the language of bow and strings, to share the spirit of the land. Esselen tribal chairman Tom Little Bear Nason offered blessings and the haunting music of a redwood flute.  It was an extraordinary happening at Carmel's Sunset Hall.

What can you follow an experience like this with?  Ogren's instincts to end the program with "Daphnis and Chloé" and with it, the season, seemed just right. It is a big, bountiful opus and so held its own alongside "Sacred Land" yet embraced the audience with enough musical spaciousness to accommodate the impact of the concerto. What a work by Ravel!

Writing these words and casting thoughts back through the concerts of his inaugural season, Ogren's music flows together in my mind like a single, extended experience, with the programs fitting together as parts of a whole. He conducted a musical story for us in six episodes, a love story revealing his own musical heart, his passion and his creative edge. It was a privilege to be present for these musical revelations and to realize I have developed a trust in this conductor, as have many patrons of the Symphony.  I want to be in the audience for his next musical chapters, to be surprised and transported and not miss any moments along the way.