Music should never be boring.

Have you ever been bored at a classical music concert? Have you ever wondered why? Perhaps you thought the problem was yourself. Maybe you thought it was because you didn't understand classical music well enough. Or that it just isn’t for you. Or even that you aren't smart enough.

Let me tell you that it's definitely not you. Like that hit book on dating, He's Just Not That Into You, you need to realize that the problem is not Mozart nor your lack of understanding of his music, but rather the delivery – or in other words, the soloist. Too often, performers are absorbed in their own world of playing a difficult instrument or their own pleasure of music-making and rarely do they realize that the ONLY reason they perform is to move another human being; they are there to entertain an audience. An audience that has plunked down hard-earned money and left the comfort of their home to experience everything a live concert can give: joy, beauty, escape, enlightenment and the bond that comes from sharing the experience with others.

This is why we work so hard on stage at Orchestra Nova, and this is why we seek out artists like Lindsay Deutsch. We're trying to reverse the damaging stereotypes and stigma inflicted on classical music, often the result of those who do not know how to have fun. Lindsay is my kind of musician. She rips it up on stage and can make a recital seem like a sporting event. If you haven't seen Lindsay yet, click on this link.

Lindsay's playing a solo recital in San Diego on January 22nd at Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall, the best acoustic venue in San Diego County.

If you’ve never heard her live or if you've only heard her soloing with Orchestra Nova, you’ll want to be at this unique performance. She'll play several showpieces, including a special version for violin and piano of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. I promise it will be worth it, especially if you’ve been hungering for a classical music experience that doesn't leave you bored or regretful that you wasted your evening – Lindsay couldn’t bore you if she tried.

Jung-Ho Pak
Artistic Director and Conductor

Check out Lindsay's upcoming concert to benefit Orchestra Nova!
 

Handel's Messiah - Orchestra Nova Honors the Masterpiece

Ah, Messiah! The emotions it elicits are so varied and so wonderful. I grew up in a small town in Kansas and never heard it performed live until I was a part of a performance as a soprano in college. I remember the joy of singing “And the glory….” and the chills I felt as everyone stood when we sang “Hallelujah.” At the time, I didn’t realize that it had become a tradition for everyone to stand with the first note of “Hallelujah” because that’s what the King of England did the first time he heard it performed.

Orchestra Nova’s annual performance, with the fantastic Bach Collegium chorus, is truly one of the most memorable and wonderful experiences I’ve had with Messiah. I remember a very poignant moment during our performance at St. James by-the-Sea church in La Jolla last year. I had moved up to toward the front on an aisle to ask someone with a video camera to stop recording the performance because it was very disruptive to their neighbors and we have a strict policy against cameras because of our agreement with the musicians.

As everyone stood for “Hallelujah,” I saw a man, probably in his 50s, put his arm around the woman beside him and pull her close. She laid her head on his shoulders and tears rolled down both their faces as the chorus was sung. And right behind them was a family with two children, the parents with their arms around the children, all beaming with big wide smiles.

I thought – “this is what music is all about, especially this great music by Handel – it’s all about bringing beauty and joy into the lives of everyone.” This has been Jung-Ho Pak’s message from the very beginning: we’re here to bring beauty and joy into the lives of people from every walk of life.

This weekend’s three performances of Handel’s Messiah are guaranteed to do just that. I can’t wait!!

Beverly Lambert
Marketing Director and Interim Executive Director


Buy Tickets and See Performance Dates Here:
http://orchestranova.org/

Hip Hop Isn't Too Cool for Classical

It all started when I decided to have flowers delivered to our fantastic graphic designer, Jennifer, for her birthday. I Googled for a nearby flower shop, checked out their web site and gave them a call. A very pleasant voice answered the phone and I placed my order and gave her the message I wanted on the card. I told her I wanted it signed, “Beverly and Jung-Ho.”

There was a pause, then, “Do you, by any chance, mean Jung-Ho Pak?” Surprised, I replied, “Yes, do you know him?” She responded that she and her son (who was playing for the San Diego Youth Symphony at the time) had attended concerts when Jung-Ho was the San Diego Symphony conductor and they absolutely loved going to his concerts.

It so happened that we had a concert that night at Qualcomm Hall, so I invited her and a friend to come as our guests. She enthusiastically accepted and brought her 12-year-old “hip-hop loving” daughter (who certainly didn’t think she liked classical music!) to the concert.


After the concert, we bumped into each other and she and her daughter were beaming. She gushed, “You are responsible for the smile on my daughter’s face. She loved the concert.” And that brought a big smile to my face! I’m hoping to see them both enjoying another “Nova experience” very soon!

Beverly Lambert
Interim Executive Director

Nova Performs with Paul Dateh's "Top 40 Mashup"

Three violinists from Orchestra Nova accompanied hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh on his “Top 40 Mashup” video in front of an enthusiastic audience of over 600 attendees at the San Diego Asian Film Festival Gala Awards Dinner last weekend. Playing from original orchestrations created just for this event, Artistic Director Jung-Ho Pak conducted the piece from his Mac laptop under blue stage lights and the glow of two large video screens.

More great videos from Paul Dateh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Xt-XeWnHM&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr8p8DHXHfw&feature=channel

Check back on the San Diego Asian Film Festival website for more information on next year's events.

4ARTS Makes Date Night Affordable

Yesterday we met with representatives from all of our 4ARTS partners to discuss our exciting new collaboration – four local arts organizations, from four different genres of art. The four partners are Orchestra Nova, Cygnet Theater, Malashock Dance and the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA). The idea was conceived during a weekly Orchestra Nova staff meeting and, soon after, the other three groups came on board. We feel truly privileged to be joining forces with each of these organizations, all of whom are enriching San Diego culture with their unique presentations of art.

Currently, subscribers of any one of the 4ARTS partners, such as our Club Nova members (subscribers and donors of $100+), are allowed 2-for-1 admission to any of the other partners’ regular season concert, performance or museum exhibit. If you subscribe to one of us, you get benefits from all of us. It’s a community of art-love.

If yesterday’s meeting is any indication of what is to come, you will be seeing some amazing things from the four of us in the future. There’s a whole lot of creativity happening here.

Nova's Very Best? You be the judge.

Getting criticized by a critic is, well, par for the course when you're in the business of entertaining. There's a reason many artists, especially actors, don't read reviews of their performances - can't let that fluff get you down. But occasionally, when a review is just plain unfair, it warrants a response. After all, if a critic gets to put their opinion out there, then so should we.

But first, here's an article printed on SanDiego.com singing the praises of Orchestra Nova's season opener on Friday night, Mozart's Very Best:

http://www.sandiego.com/arts/orchestra-nova-opens-with-stylish-mozart

The original title of the Union Tribune (U-T) article written by newly-minted critic James Chute on Friday night titled "Entering The Nova World Proves A Painful Experience" was published not once, but twice, in both the Saturday and Sunday editions of the U-T!  At least they toned it down for the online version on SignOnSanDiego.com to "Are You (Orchestra Nova) Experienced?"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/15/orchestra-nova-san-diego-classical/

Another oddity is that the U-T has pulled a recent article with a positive tone - an interview with Jung-Ho written by Mr. Chute and published in the Night & Day section last Thursday.  As of Saturday, it no longer exists online [Note: they put this article back up on Friday, October 22].

We chose to respond by sending a letter to the editor at the Union Tribune - we'll find out soon enough if they have the guts to publish it. All's fair in love and war...and, truly, no hard feelings toward Chute, but we just want to let the world know that we are so much more than meets the critic's eye.

Our letter to the Union Tribune:

http://www.orchestranova.org/orchestra_nova_gets_it_right.shtml

We have had an outpouring of support from our fans in the last week and we deeply appreciate all your kind words.  Many of you said you also planned to write a letter to the editor and we would love it if you sent your letters to us as well (we won't publish anything without your consent):  marketing@orchestranova.org

How was your experience at Mozart's Very Best?  Please write your comments, suggestions and criticisms in the space provided below - we want to hear from you all!

Sincerely,

The Orchestra Nova Team

Take 5 for Music

Imagine 60,000 young people listening to classical music each day.

With the philosophy of "Every Child, Every Life" our goal is to bring classical music to every student in San Diego. Last year nearly 6,000 students in grades 3-6 participated in Music Memory: a fun, interactive curriculum that focuses on 16 pieces of music each year and concludes with a county-wide Music Bee. But with nearly 60,000 elementary students enrolled in the San Diego Unified School District, we have a lot of work to do!

"Take 5 for Music" is in the beta stage right now, having tested the program on 20 elementary schools this past spring. Take 5 provides five minutes of daily listening to great classical music masterpieces. You don't need to know how to play the clarinet to participate, students just need a good set of ears and a quiet listening environment. The music does all the rest.

Classrooms filled with Bach and Mozart each day? What a wonderful thing that would be.

Paige Satter
Artistic Administrator & Education/Outreach Coordinator