Beethoven Symphony 9

Orchestra marks 50 years with ambitious concert

The Asia America Symphony has been creating music for the past 50 years, and that's given it reason to celebrate. The orchestra will mark the milestone anniversary with a concert Saturday at the Norris Theatre in Rolling Hills Estates.

David Benoit, the group's music director and conductor, describes the evening's program as ambitious.

"We are going to open with one of my favorite pieces - `Rodeo' by Aaron Copland," Benoit said. "That's going to be fun. It always gets people going, it's a real energetic piece."

The Asia America Symphony performed "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at Walt Disney Concert Hall two years ago and received rave reviews. So Benoit thought the 50th anniversary was a fitting time to reprise it. For the piece, the orchestra will be accompanied by the L.A. Daiku chorus.

The evening also will mark Eleanor Dunbar's first time performing as soloist with the Asia America Symphony. The will play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, which she wanted to do, she says, because it's an amazing piece with a beautiful melody.

"In the first movement there's a lot of different moods so it's a lot of fun for me to do," Dunbar said.

And the difficulty level is not something she can't handle. She started with the Asia America Youth Orchestra at age 8 and Benoit refers to her as a child prodigy.

"It's kind of weird to be called a child prodigy," Dunbar said. "Nobody can ever be perfect. I still have room for improvement. I have a lot to learn."

But the fact that she was the only soloist picked to perform on such a momentous occasion was not lost on her.

"It was an honor. I was shocked when I got that phone call," Dunbar said. "I was amazed that he wanted me to do it." 15-year-old San Pedro resident

In addition to Dunbar's performance, another highlight of the evening is likely to be the orchestra's world premiere of "Eastern Sky" - a piece written by Benoit and dedicated to the orchestra.

"I wrote a brand-new piece, I have no idea how it's going to sound. I'm pretty excited about it," Benoit said. "It's an interesting piece that uses a lot of genres in music, because that's what our orchestra does."

Those genres include classical, Asian, jazz and rhythmic.

And Benoit has even more to celebrate Saturday.

"It's my 10-year anniversary conducting the orchestra," he said. "So it means a lot to me personally."

Stephanie Cary 310-540-5511, Ext. 6630 stephanie.cary@dailybreeze.

Beethoven 9 Symphonies - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Community

3 Documentaries - In a one-hour-long film for each symphony Maestro Thielemann and Joachim Kaiser (Germany’s most famous music critic) discuss and analyze in an entertaining conversational exchange Thielemann’s interpretation, complemented by excerpts from rehearsals as well as comparisons of Beethoven cycles with Karajan, Bernstein etc. – no aspect of Beethoven’s symphonic œuvre will remain unaffected! Includes an hour-long documentary for each symphony where Maestro Thielemann and Joachim Kaiser (the most famous German music critic) discuss and analyze in an entertaining conversational exchange Thielemann’s interpretation, complemented by excerpts from rehearsals as well as by comparisons of Beethoven cycles with Karajan, Bernstein etc. – no aspect of Beethoven’s symphonic œuvre will remain unaffected! Includes an hour-long documentary for each symphony where Maestro Thielemann and Joachim Kaiser (the most famous German music critic) discuss and analyze in an entertaining conversational exchange Thielemann’s interpretation, complemented by excerpts from rehearsals as well as by comparisons of Beethoven cycles with Karajan, Bernstein etc. – no aspect of Beethoven’s symphonic œuvre will remain unaffected!

Symphony 9, D minor

Symphony 9, D minor

Symphony no. 9 in D minor, op. 125, Choral

Beethoven Symphony

A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889) by eminent writers, English and foreign, With illustrations and woodcuts