The Wisconsin Wind Orchestra presents Play of the Imagination, a program that encourages listeners to engage the imagination through expressive, evocative music and highly descriptive titles. The program includes selections from Carl Orff's beloved masterpiece Carmina Burana, which is subtitled “Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images.” London Sketches by Francis Casadesus evokes several scenes of daily life in the British capital, from a visit to Trafalgar Square to children playing in Hyde Park. Jeux d'Enfant by the great French composer, George Bizet, is a delightful set of miniatures that describe quite effectively various energetic children's games.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Conductor Lawrence Dale Harper established the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra in 1995 as one of the few professional wind ensembles in the world. They regularly perform concerts at venues throughout Wisconsin, have made numerous CD recordings, and have appeared in concerts and radio broadcasts internationally. The WWO is committed to expanding the repertoire for winds through commissions, and has given the premiere performance of several works by prominent American and European composers. The WWO is committed to expanding the repertoire for winds through commissions, and has given the premiere performance of several works by prominent American and European composers. The musicians of the WWO enjoy taking its audiences on adventures in programming to explore the intersections between the various art forms that can enliven our experience in the concert hall. The WWO has collaborated with professional actors (e.g., Stravinsky L’Histoire du Soldat and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), dancers (e.g., Milhaud's Little Symphony), painters, partner ensembles (e.g., Global Percussion Network, Sweden), and a wide array of regional and international soloists. 

www.wisconsinwindorchestra.com

Trailblazers shines a spotlight on music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Henriëtte Bosmans, Ethel Smyth, and Dora Pejačević–women who were unabashedly themselves, defying the social expectations of their time against the backdrop of world wars and a global pandemic. Originally written for cello and piano, three sonatas are presented here in new arrangements for viola and piano, marking a significant contribution to the viola repertoire. All three sonatas are featured on the new album, Trailblazers, from Acis Productions.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS 

Dr. Molly Gebrian is a professional violist and scholar with a background in cognitive neuroscience. Her area of expertise is applying the research on learning and memory to practicing and performing music. She also investigates the intersections between music and language. As a performer, she prioritizes the works of living composers and those who have traditionally been excluded from the culture of classical music. She holds degrees in both music and neuroscience from Oberlin College and Conservatory, New England Conservatory of Music, and Rice University. Previously, she was the viola professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Arizona. After a decade of teaching viola at the collegiate level, she will join the faculty at New England Conservatory of Music in Fall 2024 to teach courses on the science of practicing.

www.mollygebrian.com

Called “phenomenal” by the late music critic Alan Rich, and hailed as one of the “local heroes” of the Los Angeles music scene (LAcitybeat.com), pianist Danny Holt performs around the globe in concert halls (Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl), clubs (Joe’s Pub, The Blue Whale, Copenhagen Jazzhouse) art galleries (MASS MoCA, Hammer Museum), churches, living rooms, and wherever else he can find a piano and someone to listen. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Blue Man Group, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the California EAR Unit, and the Calder Quartet. His recorded catalog includes the recent solo album “Piano Music of Mike Garson” and other solo, chamber, and orchestral releases on the Innova Recordings label, pfMENTUM, New World Records, Deutsche Grammophon, and L’st records. Holt holds degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Hampshire College, Smith College, and Interlochen Arts Academy. He is the Founder & Artistic Director of Desert Hot Springs Classical Concerts.

www.dannyholt.net

Since meeting at the University of Southern California in 2018, Mircea Gogoncea and Marley Eder have performed dozens of concerts throughout southern California for organizations including Pasadena Showcase House, Huntington Gardens, Desert Hot Springs Classical Concerts, and programs in underserved communities throughout L.A. for the Thornton Community Engagement Program. The duo was first introduced to local audiences when they participated in the Afternoon Concert Crawl in 2020. Audiences raved about their performance so the duo was selected to be included in the 2021 series of online concerts. Now they return to Desert Hot Springs to perform on the main stage, and will be presenting Dance!, an eclectic program of dance music from all over the world including Argentina, Hungary, and Macedonia, among others.

 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Flutist Marley Eder leads a multifaceted career as a performer and educator in Los Angeles. He performs regularly with numerous orchestras throughout the southwest including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestra Santa Monica, Las Vegas Philharmonic, and San Luis Obispo Symphony, where he serves as principal flute. Additionally, he collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra playing second flute under Sir Simon Rattle during their North American tour in 2022. As a result of reaching the semi-finals in the Nielsen International Flute Competition in 2019, he performed C.P.E. Bach’s Flute Concerto with members of the Odense Symphony (Denmark) on Medici TV. Eder is currently on the faculty of Santa Monica College, Glendale Community College, and Northern California Flute Camp. He is also a teaching artist for the Young Musician Foundation. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in flute performance at the University of Southern California where he held a position as a student instructor. He earned his previous degrees from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas (BM) and Louisiana State University (MM) where he was a graduate teaching assistant.

www.marleyedermusic.com

Dr. Mircea Gogoncea is a Romanian-German guitarist based in Los Angeles. He has performed over 400 concerts on 5 continents. In 2018, he organized the first-ever classical guitar masterclass and workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. Fundraising for the project consisted of a 7-concert tour of India. The documentary he made about his journey inspired luthiers and performers to donate professional instruments to the young musicians in Lagos. In 2022, Gogoncea made his debut as a composer with an hour-long interactive performance consisting of music he composed for guitar, live electronics, and audience interaction. Through this innovative format, he breaks down barriers between performers and listeners, encouraging audiences to engage with music more deeply. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in guitar performance from USC Thornton in Los Angeles, in addition to 5 other university degrees. He graduated with honors from the Advanced Diploma program of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the post-master program Konzertexamen of the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf, Germany.

www.mircegogoncea.com

Local composer David Carp (b. 1935) recently collaborated with Desert Hot Springs Classical Concerts Founder & Artistic Director, Danny Holt, to produce an album of Carp’s original string quartets, which were composed between 1957-1995. This project was especially meaningful for the composer, since these works (several of them more than 60 years old!) had never before been recorded. Holt and Carp worked with some of L.A.’s best contemporary classical musicians to bring this music to life, and it’s all captured beautifully on a new CD that also features liner notes and original artwork by the composer.

Tuesday’s event will be a celebration of David Carp: his life, his music, and this new album. The composer will be interviewed by Danny Holt, we will hear excerpts from the album, and there will be a Q&A session. This is a great opportunity to meet a living composer and honor a local Desert Hot Springs artist for his decades of work!

This event takes place Tuesday, February 13, 2024 in the Community Room at the Desert Hot Springs Library (14380 Palm Dr.) from 6-6:45pm.

Free and open to the public.

Listen to David Carp’s evocative music HERE.

A celebration of global interconnectedness, Crossing Sonic Borders will immerse audiences in diverse musical influences, seamlessly creating a tapestry of interwoven sounds. The program includes five original pieces by composers from the Bridge to Everywhere ensemble, with a wide array of influences such as the intricate melodies and rhythmic systems of Hindustani classical music, avant-garde electronics, the syncopation of Mexican Son Huasteco, the dance-like melodies of a Baroque chitarrone, the asymmetrical meters found in Greek and Balkan traditions, the polyrhythms of West African drumming, and the enchanting harmonies of Erik Satie. Come join us for a unique experience that crosses sonic boundaries and creates an interconnected cross-cultural symphony!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Bridge to Everywhere is a Los Angeles-based chamber ensemble and nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting composers, performers, and educators who celebrate cultural diversity through interwoven musical traditions. Through collaborations, performances, and education programs, the organization strives to build bridges between instruments, genres, cultures, and people. At its core, Bridge to Everywhere is a movement to promote compassion and empathy through music. They aspire to use music to bring people together to celebrate our differences and find common ground. Furthermore, they believe that musical collaboration can serve as a model of how people from different backgrounds can work together to forge harmonious relationships. Through their engagements, they hope that audiences will find new connections between musical traditions, and in turn, each other.

www.bridgetoeverywhere.org

Acclaimed Bay Area pianist Sarah Cahill will perform a diverse program as part of her ongoing project that celebrates and highlights women composers from the 17th century to the present day. This three album series encompasses 30 compositions by women from around the globe and include many new commissioned works and world premiere recordings. Cahill’s program for Desert Hot Springs Classical Concerts features works spanning over 300 years by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Louise Farrenc, Fanny Mendelssohn, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Margaret Bonds, and Theresa Wong.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sarah Cahill, hailed as “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times, has commissioned and premiered over seventy compositions for solo piano. Composers who have dedicated works to Cahill include John Adams, Terry Riley, Frederic Rzewski, Pauline Oliveros, Julia Wolfe, Roscoe Mitchell, Annea Lockwood, and Ingram Marshall. She was named a 2018 Champion of New Music, awarded by the American Composers Forum (ACF). Sarah Cahill’s discography includes more than twenty albums on the New Albion, CRI, New World, Tzadik, Albany, Innova, Cold Blue, Other Minds, Irritable Hedgehog, and Pinna labels. Her three-album series, The Future is Female, was released on First Hand Records between March 2022 and April 2023. These albums encompass 30 compositions by women from around the globe, from the 17th century to the present day, and include many world premiere recordings. Cahill’s radio show, Revolutions Per Minute, can be heard every Sunday evening from 8 to 10pm on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco. She is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory and is a regular pre-concert speaker with the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

www.sarahcahill.info