By Eileen Wingard
ENCINITAS, California — Mechiah: Jewish Classical Music to Soothe the Soul is the title of the concert which will be performed at Temple Solel between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, on Saturday evening, October 8, 7:00 p.m. The 70-piece Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and 40-member Master Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Randall Tweed, will be presenting this wonderful program of Jewish Classical Music.
The opening selection, with violinist Ondrej Lewit as soloist, will be three pieces from the film score of the movie, Schindler’s List, by the American composer, John Williams (1932). Next, the Master Chorale will sing in Hebrew, Halleluya, Haleli Nafshi and Adon Olam, by Salamone Rossi (1570-1630), the Renaissance Jewish composer who was employed in the court of Mantua, Italy.
Flutist Suzanne Kennedy will be the soloist in Suite Modale for Flute and Strings by Ernest Bloch (1880-1959), best known for his Jewish-inspired works Schelomo, Baal Shem Suite, and Suite Hebraique.
Mezzo-soprano Ava Baker Liss will be the soloist with the Master Chorale in the Cantata, Naomi and Ruth by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968), the Italian-born Jewish composer who wrote movie scores and was the teacher of John Williams, Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith. The program will conclude with the orchestra performing Totenfeier (Funeral Rites) by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), the Bohemian Jewish-born composer of the post-romantic era.
The Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and the Master Chorale are comprised of music and non-music majors from Grossmont College as well as music teachers and talented musicians from the community. Entrance to these ensembles is by audition.
I remember Dr. Randall Tweed from his years at Patrick Henry High School. He was a talented trumpeter who played in both, the high school orchestra and the Civic Youth Orchestra, which was under the direction of Robert Emile, concertmaster of the San Diego Symphony. My daughter, Myla, was concertmaster of both the high school and youth orchestras and she and Randy were friends.
Randy was not only a gifted musician in his own right, but he was the son of professional musicians. His late father, Myron Tweed, was the choir director at San Diego’s First Presbyterian Church, and his mother, Soprano Pauline Tweed, continues as a soloist at All Saints Episcopal Church of San Diego, and sings lead soprano with Congregation Beth Israel’s professional choir. Randy, one of four children, would participate as a vocalist in his family’s singing group. The talented instrumentalist, singer and conductor went on to earn two Master of Music degrees from the University of Southern California, a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the School of Music at Arizona State University, and to pursue post-graduate study at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule as a recipient of a Konrad Adenauer Foundation Fellowship. Dr. Tweed has been on the Grossmont College faculty since 1986.
Violinist Ondrej Lewit received his training in his native Prague. In 1983, he moved to Spain, where he served as concertmaster of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and the Liceo Opera Theatre Orchestra of Barcelona. Relocating to Tijuana in 2005, he became concertmaster of the Baja California Orchestra and taught violin at the Conservatory of Music in Tijuana. Currently, he has a private studio in San Diego. He performs chamber music and is concertmaster of the San Diego Interfaith Choir and Orchestra and the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra.
Flutist Suzanne Kennedy received her early music lessons in her hometown of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music Performance from San Diego State University and was the contracted flutist/piccolo player for Orchestra Nova and the Starlight Orchestra. She also serves as Music Director for the Santa Sophia parish.
Mezzo-soprano Ava Baker Liss was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1992, she has been associated with the San Diego Opera as chorister, bilingual artist-in-residence, and taking on roles such as in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri. She serves as section leader and cantorial soloist at Temple Adat Shalom and alto section leader with the First Presbyterian Church of San Diego.
Mechiah: Jewish Classical Music to Soothe the Soul promises to be a spiritually uplifting program, performed by a well-trained college-community orchestra and chorus and highly professional soloists. It is an appropriate concert to experience during the High Holy Days of contemplation and reflection. Tickets are $10.00 general, $5.00 student with $50 sponsorships available.
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Wingard is a freelance writer and a former violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com.