Executive & Artistic Director
THOR STEINGRABER
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TESSA LARK, violin
JOSHUA ROMAN, cello
EDGAR MEYER, double bass
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Generously underwritten by the Colburn Foundation
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Wed Oct 23 | 8pm
RUN TIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes,
including a 20-minute intermission
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Program
BACH: Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Major, BWV 1027
I. Adagio
II. Allegro ma non tanto
III. Andante
IV. Allegro moderato
EDGAR MEYER: “Trio 1986”
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Intermission
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EDGAR MEYER: “New Trio 2024”
EDGAR MEYER: “Trio 1988”
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Commissioning support provided by:
Aspen Music Festival and School, Robert Spano, Music Director
Big Ears Festival
Cal Performances
Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University
Lied Center of Kansas at the University of Kansas
Program Note
The Soraya’s chamber music concerts have become increasingly popular. These intimate and immersive concerts are breathtaking, both for the proximity to the musicians and for the sweeping view of the Great Hall from the audience’s vantage point sitting on the stage. Chamber musicians also share in this special experience, often commenting that the audience is almost a part of the performance itself.
Tonight’s concert is the first of three this season, each featuring Baroque music. In The Soraya’s intimate format, you might easily transport yourself to the setting in which this music might first have been heard, centuries ago.
Gratefully,
Thor Steingraber
Executive and Artistic Director,
Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
America’s leading Baroque ensemble unites with mandolin superstar Avi Avital and multi-Grammy® Award-winning soprano Estelí Gomez for a journey to Venice with the most popular pieces of Baroque music: Vivaldi’s groundbreaking violin concertos, interwoven with traditional Venetian gondolier songs from the 1740s.
A NOTE FROM EDGAR MEYER
In 1986 to 1988, I wrote a series of three-string trips that I premiered with Daniel Phillips and Carter Brey at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. These were the first longer pieces that I had conceived as such, and they set the tone for my next four decades. Only one was partially recorded. After meeting Tessa Lark and Joshua Roman a few years ago, I realized that they were perfect for helping me document this personal milestone. I have now set out to write a new trio for us to “complete the thought.”
TESSA LARK, violin
Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. In 2020, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. She is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky.
Highlights of Lark’s 2023-24 Season included the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray’s Violin Concerto and performances of Michael Torke’s violin concerto, “Sky” — both pieces written for her — as well as her European orchestral debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Lark’s latest album, The Stradgrass Sessions, was also released in 2023.
She also performs with the Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and others; and gives duo concerts with double bassist Michael Thurber and jazz guitarist Frank Vignola.
Her debut commercial recording was the Grammy-nominated “Sky,” and her discography also includes Fantasy; Invention, recorded with Thurber; and a live recording of Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
In addition to her performance schedule, Lark champions young aspiring artists and supports the next generation of musicians through her work as a co-host and creative of NPR’s “From the Top.”
Lark plays a c. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
JOSHUA ROMAN, cello
Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone … and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom … that goes straight to the heart” (San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (The Seattle Times).
Committed to bringing Classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED conference, and his performance of the complete Bach Solo Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers.
Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony Award-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Bill T. Jones, Grammy Award-nominated East African vocalist Somi, and Tony Award-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith. Roman’s solo performance with the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall was viewed by 33 million people across nearly 200 countries, with Yo-Yo Ma introducing him as “one of the great exemplars of the ideal 21st century musician.”
As a soloist, Roman’s “exceptionally high quality of performances” (Los Angeles Times) combines “the expressive control of Casals with the creative individuality and virtuoso flair of Hendrix himself” (Gramophone).
He has performed with leading orchestras around the United States and the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony, Toronto Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, and Mariinsky Orchestra. He was principal cellist at Seattle Symphony from ages 22 to 24.
As a composer, he has been commissioned by Music Academy of the West, Illinois Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Grace Cathedral, and more; he has written for the JACK Quartet, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. Equally accomplished as an interpreter of the music of other contemporary composers, Roman has premiered works by Mason Bates, Reena Esmail, Timo Andres, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lisa Bielawa, and others.
A native of Oklahoma City, Roman studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Richard Aaron and Desmond Hoebig.
Roman is grateful for the loan of an 1899 cello by Giulio Degani of Venice.
EDGAR MEYER, double bass
Hailed by The New Yorker as “the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively unchronicled history of his instrument,” Edgar Meyer’s uniqueness in the field was recognized when he became the only bassist to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in addition to a MacArthur Award.
He was honored with two Grammy Awards this year for As We Speak in the categories of Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Best Global Music Performance. Throughout his career, he has received a total of seven Grammy Awards.
As We Speak, with Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Rakesh Chaurasia, was released in May 2023. The first leg of the As We Speak tour preceded the album release, and Meyer went out again in November 2023 for the second leg.
Meyer completed a duo recording with Christian McBride, as well as a recording of his three concertos with The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen and produced by Chris Thile. In June 2023, to complete the concerto project, he recorded his “Concertino for Bass and 14 Strings” in the U.K. with the Scottish Ensemble led by Jonathan Morton, who commissioned and toured the piece with Meyer in spring 2022.
Additionally, Meyer was part of a five-composer group, each composing a movement for a U.S. premiere with Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic in September 2023.
This fall, his newly formed trio with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Joshua Roman began touring the U.S., performing string trios he composed in the 1980s as well as a newly commissioned work.
Meyer is the subject of an ongoing documentary filmed and produced by Lark, Andrew Adair, and Michael Thurber.
Emanuel Ax
The most anticipated debut of the 2024-25 Season, Emanuel Ax finally lands at The Soraya with his extraordinary versatility and brilliance. The pianist is legendary in the recording studio and onstage. This evening will feature “Fantasia” standards for classical piano repertoire by Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Schumann.
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An Interview With Tessa Lark & Avi Avital
You Belong Here
This is your opportunity to belong to something special. Our 2024-25 Members enjoy exclusive experiences, such as the Member Appreciation Night for all Members, special events and artist meet-and-greets (Silver Members and above), private pre-performance artist salons (Silver Members and above), our festive holiday party, the annual Director’s Dinner in 2025 (Platinum Members), and more — as well as priority access to your preferred seats, your very own Members Only Seating Section, and exclusive savings when you select five or more performances. Most importantly, Member benefits are valid all season.
Beyond the benefits, Members drive our mission to present the highest caliber artists who captivate, inspire, and transport our audiences. Here, Members are part of a growing community of arts lovers connected by the joy of shared human experience. Here, Members belong.
About Us
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts is an award-winning, 1,700-seat theater that opened in 2011 and was designed by HGA Architects and Engineers. In 2017, a transformative gift by Younes and Soraya Nazarian dubbed the venue The Soraya (formerly the Valley Performing Arts Center). A vibrant performance program has served to establish The Soraya as the intellectual and cultural heart of the San Fernando Valley and its 1.8 million residents, and further establish The Soraya as one of the top arts companies in Southern California.
The Soraya’s 2024-25 Season boldly advances the immersive sound of big orchestras; the free flow of jazz; an array of dance; and a cultural bounty drawn from the well of world traditions. The Soraya continues its vigorous commitment to innovating, excelling, and amplifying access by offering a wide variety of performances that reflect LA’s many distinctive communities and featuring new and original work from the Los Angeles region as well as artists from around the world.
Located on the vibrant campus of the California State University, Northridge, The Soraya and the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication share an integral link that enhances student opportunities in the arts and performing arts. This partnership fosters academic opportunity and artistic excellence, elevating the talents of CSUN’s students.
A $5 million contribution from record producer and former California Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb was pivotal in ensuring The Soraya was completed and opened in 2011. For his founding support and in acknowledgment of the integral relationship between the Mike Curb College and The Soraya, Curb is recognized as one of The Soraya’s Cornerstone Benefactors. The relationship between The Soraya and the Mike Curb College continues to grow, with robust offerings for students through master classes, student tickets, concerts of student ensembles, and students appearing alongside renowned artists, such as Wynton Marsalis, Aida Cuevas, and Martha Graham Dance Company.