The San Luis Obispo Symphony will perform ‘A Grand Occasion’ in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center on Feb. 3. The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. and marks the Symphony’s first concert of the new year.
The performance will open with jazz pianist and composer Patrice Rushen’s “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory,” a symphonic work inspired by the legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr. that includes a quote from his 1968 “I Have a Dream” speech, according to the PAC website.
“The idea with this piece is to offer imagery, power, and a timeline in three movements of the most pivotal parts of this man’s life,” Rushen said in an Instagram post. “I was a kid during the height of the civil rights movement and, while I didn’t understand at the time what was going on, I could feel the power and the importance of the work that was happening.”
The performance of ‘A Grand Occasion’ will take place just two days after the start of Black History Month.
“We always try to represent diversity in all of our concerts,” Interim Executive Director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony Liz Summer said. “That’s something we always continuously strive for, is to show diversity of artists and pieces and this is one of them.”
Featured during this concert will be solo trumpeter Andrew Balio, who will perform “Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto.” According to the San Luis Obispo Symphony website, Bailio performed at one of its virtual concerts in 2021, and will be performing in person for the Symphony for the first time at ‘A Grand Occasion.’
The concert will close with a side-by-side performance of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, with the San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony. According to Education Manager Grace Seng, musicians from grades 7 – 12 in the concert orchestra will be paired with a professional musician and perform the same music at the same time – an opportunity they get once a year.
“It expands their vision of what the orchestra can sound like and gives them a vision of what a professional concert setting looks like,” Seng said.
The concert orchestra will be led by Conductor Christopher J. Woodruff, who also serves as the director of bands and an assistant professor in the music department at Cal Poly.
“This concert has so much that it’s offering to speak to many people in the audience,” Summer said.
The Symphonic Foray starts an hour before the concert, where attendees can learn more about the works being performed. According to the San Luis Obispo Symphony website, Music Director Andrew Sewell will be joined by a guest to discuss the “history and meaning of the music,” and offer an “insider’s view into why each piece was chosen.”
Tickets start at $12 for Cal Poly students and $57 for non-students. Parking is free for ticket holders at the Grand Avenue Parking Structure. Tickets are available for purchase through pacslo.org.