Conductor Peter Bay will lead the Monterey Symphony in two upcoming concerts on Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 3pm, at Sunset Center (San Carlos & 9th Ave). Bay joins the orchestra for these performances as one of the finalists in Monterey Symphony’s Music Director search, and both concert programs will feature works by Sibelius, Barber, and Copland.

Bay says, “It’s a great honor and pleasure to return to Monterey to conduct the wonderful musicians of the Monterey Symphony with whom I collaborated with ten years ago. I have kept memories with me of their musicianship, their strong work ethic, and their camaraderie, which made my week such a joy.”

“One of the first works played by the Monterey Symphony 75 years ago was Jean Sibelius’ stirring Finlandia, which opens our March concerts,” says Bay. “Finnish listeners loved the melody of this piece so much that they started to set the tune to words,” says MSO’s Dr. of Musicology Alicia Mastromonaco. “Sibelius was perplexed by this, saying, ‘It is not intended to be sung…it is written for orchestra. But if the world wants to sing it, it can’t be helped.’ Says Mastromonaco. “Indeed, the melody became so beloved that it is now affectionately known as “the unofficial national anthem of Finland.”

Next “Our brilliant soloist Simone Porter will be featured in an American masterwork, Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.” says Bay. The concerto features a “perpetuum mobile of the third movement, when the violin hardly stops playing at breakneck speed over the course of the four-minute movement,” says Mastromonaco.

The concert will conclude with “One of the landmarks of American music, Aaron Copland’s thrilling Third Symphony (which incorporates his ‘Fanfare for a Common Man’) and is a particular favorite of mine to conduct. It is being played by the Monterey Symphony for the very first time on these concerts,” says Bay. “All three of these compositions showcase the virtuosity of the Monterey Symphony, and it will be a thrill to hear the orchestra bring them to life.”

PETER BAY

March 19, 2022 • 7:30 PM

Preconcert Lecture by Peter Bay: 6:30 – 7:00 PM

March 20, 2022 • 3:00 PM

Preconcert Lecture by Peter Bay: 2:00 – 2:30 PM

Sunset Center, Carmel

PROGRAM:

JEAN SIBELIUS

Finlandia, Op. 26

[Running Time 8′]

SAMUEL BARBER

Violin Concerto, Op. 14 [25′]

   Simone Porter, violin

AARON COPLAND

Symphony No. 3 [43′]

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