From the ferocious rhythms of Shostakovich to the perfection of Beethoven’s late quartet, the MAREA ensemble (Kristin Garbeff, Shannon D’Antonio, Samantha Bounkeua, Lori Schulman, Rebecca Dulatre Corbin) took its sold-out program to stunning heights. And in between, guided by the encyclopedic flavors of Lori Schulman’s soprano, a few choice bits of music by living composers cast their spell. Caroline Shaw, whose musical imagination rarely disappoints, was in good hands with Schulman’s conversational syncopation and sudden coloratura. In a world premiere, Chris Pratorius Gomez showed his supple ability to compose for the voice. So many chromatic textures emerged from his musical palette that once again, I’m impatient to hear this locally-based composer unleash his full range in a large-scale work. A song cycle? A chamber opera? He added dazzle to words by poet Kristen Nelson. Another rousing and beautiful choice was Source Code by Jessie Montgomery, marrying a deep background in American Spirituals with a playful gift for sorrowful theme and variation. A murky piece by Eliza Brown should have been left unplayed.
Amadeus Storms the Civic
The concept of collaboration took on new, bold, and wildly successful meaning two weeks ago when those lucky enough to crowd into the Civic Auditorium got to feast on powerful dramatizations by Charles Pasternak and his fellow actors, the soaring fugues sung by Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus, and the never-better chromatics of the Santa Cruz Symphony, all joining their expertise in one weekend of Amadeus.
Shrewdly adapted by Symphony director Daniel Stewart from Peter Shaffer’s award-winning play, the evening reenacted one man’s volcanic envy over another man’s matchless genius. The tale of composer Antonio Salieri plotting revenge against the reigning musical genius of the late 18th century—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart— is irresistible.
And so was Stewart’s fiercely intelligent staging, rushing the actors into the spotlights from all corners of the Civic Auditorium, and illustrating the stages in Salieri’s smoldering ire by having the Chorus sing passages of Mozart’s well-known operas. Pasternak (Salieri) and Will Block (Mozart) hammered out the details of how the final Requiem was actually created, echoed by the voices and instruments. Superbly clever! Pasternak commanded the flow of the narrative with sheer vocal authority and emotional quicksilver. Quartets and soloists, notably soprano Lori Schulman and baritone Edward Tavalin punctuated the huge wall of orchestral sound with delightful vignettes from Mozart’s most popular operas, Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute.
Kudos to the never-better Shaun Carroll in a suite of parts, as well as the vocal quintet of Ruth Updegraff, Margaret Anderson, Stephanie Schaeffer, Sebastian Castro and David Willoughby. Among other things, this ambitious evening of music theater was an irresistible advertisement for the relevance of opera, then and now. Take that Timothée Chalamet.
NMW Season Finale
Mark your calendar for the April 25 New Music Works concert, an evening of experimental joie de vivre pairing the wildly unexpected percussion of William Wynant with the delicate bite of Zeena Parkins’ harp. Lean into two major works for harp and percussion by Zeena Parkins (both with engaging titles), Modesty of the Magic Thing, For the Pink Cup, Seven Pillars
and LACE ACTION CARDS.
Never a dull or ordinary moment at NMW’s mind-altering concerts. Percussion and harp. Such an uncanny combination of instruments, especially funneled through the imagination of a living composer. Come and find out how it sounds. Saturday, April 25, 2026: 7pm; Peace United Church of Christ. Tickets: General: $35 Sr $30, Students $20
Ensemble Monterey Unleashed!
Sunday April 12, 7pm at Messiah Lutheran Church, feast on the gorgeous energy of Arnold Schönberg, Leos Janacek, Arvo Pärt and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, performed by this elite string ensemble. Maestro Alan Truong leads the program. These folks are superb musicians. Do. Not. Miss! ensemblemonterey.org
