LAMORINDA WEEKLY | 'American Radio Hour' concert program offers a musical trip back in time


Two-time Grammy winner jazz violinist Mads Tolling Photo provided

Pacific Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Lawrence Kohl, will take audience members back to 1944 - before the internet, computers, even television, when the radio was king - to enjoy an "American Radio Hour" concert program at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21 at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church at 49 Knox in Lafayette and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22 at the Bankhead Theatre at 2100 First Street in Livermore.

Audience members will serve as the live studio audience for Scott Joplin's delightful ragtime hit "The Entertainer;" George Gershwin's sweet "Lullaby for Strings;" Charles Ives' amusing "Three Short Pieces" and Aaron Copland's masterful "Appalachian Spring." Copland focused this well-known, beautiful piece on the heart of American values as expressed in the Shaker melody: 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free.

Two-time Grammy winner jazz violinist Mads Tolling will also premiere a concerto for violin and chamber orchestra, "Yggdrasil," commissioned by the Pacific Chamber Orchestra. Yggdrasil is the holy giant ash tree in Nordic mythology that is center to the cosmos. Its branches extend far into the heavens and its roots go deep in the earth, connecting the nine Norse worlds. Part of the concerto will be based around the oldest written Scandinavian song, "I have dreamed me a dream," found on a piece of wood written in Runes around 1300 just after the Viking age. As befitting our diverse America, Tolling's "Yggdrasil" connects classical and improvisational jazz, old time fiddling and Latin styles into a complex and new musical universe.

Tickets are $10 - $59 and for both locations may be purchased through the PCO website: PacificChamberOrchestra.org or for Livermore the Bankhead Box office, by phone at (925) 373-6800 or online at BankheadTheater.org.

The professional musicians of the Pacific Chamber Orchestra have performed in the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet and Theatre Orchestra; perform for feature films recorded at Skywalker Ranch; tour internationally in chamber groups and appear as soloists. For information and videos about PCO, visit pacificchamberorchestra.org.