By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — Violinist Jenny Oaks Baker, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the featured soloist at TICO’s opening programs, Thursday evening, November 17 and Saturday evening, November 19. The large audience in the Cohen Social Hall of Tifereth Israel Synagogue included many members of the Church of Latter Day Saints, of which the violinist is a member and a well-known super-star. Baker has degrees from both the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where she studied with Jaime Laredo and Victor Danchenko, and from the Juilliard School in New York, where she studied with Robert Mann.
The talented soloist was featured in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, probably the most beloved concerto in the violin repertoire. Although the acoustics in the Cohen Social hall do not favor the violin, the instrument’s sweet sound stayed audible and Baker phrased with pleasing musicality as Amos kept the orchestra’s volume subdued during the solo passages. The last movement was taken at a robust clip, challenging the orchestra to keep up, but, under Amos’s deft direction, soloist and orchestra managed to stay together, as they reached the exciting climax.
The second half of the program consisted of familiar works in arrangements made especially for Baker. For this part of the program, she had her violin amplified. She plays on an old Italian instrument which was made by Vincenzo Panormo in 1795. Although there were some problems with the microphone during the opening works, a second amplification device worked correctly, and the instrument’s rich sound came through. The first two selections, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy from his Symphony #9 and O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, included a 22-voice choir, assembled by Marilyn White. This was followed by an expressive rendition of John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List. When introducing the movie theme, she told the audience that many of her violin teachers were Jewish. Once, when her teacher took her to play for Joseph Gingold, one of the great violin pedagogues of the twentieth century, she performed Bloch’s “Nigun.” She felt greatly complimented when Gingold inquired whether she was Jewish.
The second half of the program continued with Selections from the music of Mary Poppins by Richard and Robert Sherman. This consisted of variations on such familiar tunes as “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “Let’s Go Fly A Kite.” The same treatment was given several Beatles songs. Next, came a soulful rendition of “Amazing Grace.” The concluding number was a medley of Copland melodies with “Hoedown” from Rodeo and “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring. For this final work, Baker invited her four children, three daughters on violin, cello, and piano and a son on guitar, to accompany her. It was impressive to see all her progeny playing along with their gifted mother. The audience gave her a rousing ovation as she returned for an encore, a violin arrangement of Puccini’s aria, Nessun Dorma. Here, again, her violin’s amplified sound filled the hall.
The program opened with a reading of Shostakovitch’s Festival Overture.
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Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com