By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — TICO’s April 2 concert in Patrick Henry High School’s beautiful on-campus concert hall, PHAME, opened with a spirited rendition of Aaron Copland’s Outdoor Overture. The violins were admirably incisive in their opening attack and the other sections, under Conductor David Amos’ precise beats and careful cues, made their complex entrances with accuracy.
Next, the Russian composer, Ipolitov-Ivanov’s Caucasian Sketches was performed. Although “Procession of the Sardar” from Caucasian Sketches is familiar, the first three movements of the work are seldom played. TICO’s reading made a strong case for the inclusion of the other movements, especially “In the Village,” with its enchanting English Horn and viola solos, beautifully rendered by Ron Fox, formerly principal oboe of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and by TICO’s principal viola, Franklin Au.
The first half of the program concluded with Sarabande for Katherine in April, by Ron Nelson, a contemporary American composer. It was a calm, tonal, pleasant- sounding work which featured a cello solo, nicely performed by TICO’s principal cellist, Evelyn Kooperman. The Sarabande performance was dedicated to Katherine Nakamura, whose tireless work, serving on the San Diego Board of Education, promoting music education and spearheading the construction of PHAME, helped create the wonderful concert hall. PHAME’s excellent acoustics enhanced the orchestra’s performance.
The second half of the concert was conducted by Clayne W. Robison, conductor of the Choir of the San Diego Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served for 35 years as professor of voice and opera production at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah. His expertise was evident as he conducted the choir and orchestra in works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bellini, Mascagni, Strauss and Menotti. Five of the selections featured his daughter, dramatic soprano, Lindsay Robison Killian. Winner of the 2000 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, she has sung with various opera companies and symphony orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Utah Opera, the Nashville Opera and Opera Caramoor, the Salt Lake Symphony and the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra.
She possesses a ravishingly beautiful voice and controls it in an expressive dynamic range. Dressed in a simple long sleeved black top and trousers, her only prop was a rose-colored shawl, which she used with dramatic effect.
Her opening aria, “To This We’ve Come,” from Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera, The Consul, had timely lyrics that tell the story of contemporary asylum-seekers as it did in Menotti’s 1950 opera.
Killian portrayed Magda, appealing for an exit visa to join her husband in a neighboring country. “To this we’ve come, to be hunted without the hope of refuge.”
The entire concert was dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal, who played in the orchestra for many years and was a strong supporter of classical music.
The front page dedication to Rabbi Rosenthal concluded: “His inspiration, guidance, wisdom, humor and spirit of egalitarianism will live with us forever.”
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Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com