Lake Tahoe Summerfest Classic Concert series launches 2015 season with 'Passport to a World of Music'

Lake Tahoe SummerFest’s fourth season, “Passport to a World of Music,” will bring Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn to audiences July 31 – Aug. 16. The three weekend series of nine different concerts will transport attendees through masterpieces translated by renowned artists and a nationally acclaimed orchestra of 40 players.

Timeless music as a force of nature will become an immersive experience through the talents of celebrated pianist Joseph Kalichstein during opening weekend. It marks a return for Kalichstein, the guest artist who also opened SummerFest’s inaugural 2012 season.

Special guest artists during the following weekends feature international guitarist Ana Vidovic on Aug. 7-9, and cellist Paul Watkins of the Emerson Quartet and music director of the English Chamber Orchestra (UK) for the festival’s finale on Aug. 14-16.

Joel Revzen, artistic director and conductor, leads the orchestra – many holding principal positions in prestigious symphonies including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the philharmonics of New York and Los Angeles, and the symphonies of San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, and Vancouver. The featured artists and musicians perform in an intimate 500-seat concert tent pavilion at Sierra Nevada College nestled under the stars and the canopy of a Tahoe forest.

Praised for his technical mastery and eloquent intensity, Kalichstein will render the genius of Viennese composers in the ‘Emperor’ concerto of Beethoven, a Mozart piano quartet, and the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 during SummerFest’s opening weekend. With a career that has spanned more than four decades and many notable highlights, Kalichstein made his first guest appearance with the New York Philharmonic in 1968 as part of a national television broadcast under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. He made his debut with the London Symphony under André Previn. A member of the faculty at Juilliard, Kalichstein also performs regularly with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.

A child prodigy, Vidovic began performing at age 5 in her native Croatia. The Washington Post said “Vidovic's playing is nuanced and intensely personal, both deeply felt and deeply thought." On Aug. 7-8, Vidovic will highlight Spanish music and its composers. Film and Hollywood composers will be featured on Aug. 9 along with soloist Jeremy McCoy, associate principal bass of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Paul Watkins, a Welsh classical cellist and conductor was a principal cellist with the BBC Symphony and won the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1988. He is the first guest conductor of SummerFest, taking the baton for the ‘Hero’s Passage’ concert on Aug. 14, which features Nathan Hughes, principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as soloist in the rarely heard oboe concerto of Richard Strauss. Watkins will then take the stage as cello soloist playing Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” on Aug. 16.

Joel Revzen is the founding conductor and artistic director of the Lake Tahoe SummerFest. Revzen has led symphonies and operas throughout North America and Europe, recording with the London Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Moscow Symphony as well as serving as pianist and conductor of the Grammy Award winning “the Art of Arleen Auger.” He is currently in his 10th season on the conducting staff of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

“At Lake Tahoe SummerFest I have the privilege of working with the finest musicians individually chosen from the leading symphonies around the world,” said Revzen. “Our musicians count down to the day they return each summer to be a part of Lake Tahoe SummerFest. We provide a classical music experience that appeals across generations.”

“Under the stars and surrounded by forest and fresh mountain air, the intimate, almost romantic setting paired with the talents of outstanding musicians makes for a memorable evening,” said Brad Trexell, executive director of the Lake Tahoe SummerFest. “Appreciation for this series, taking audiences on a musical journey around the world, will resonate whether attendees are sampling classical music for the first time or are continuing a long held love affair.”

Lake Tahoe SummerFest 2015 Schedule

Weekends July 31 – Aug. 16, 2015

Guest Artist: Joseph Kalichstein
July 31 – 7:15 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘Destination Genius’ includes Mendelssohn: Sinfonia No. 10 in B minor; Mozart: Symphony No. 36, “Linz” and Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Aug. 1 – 7:15 p.m. Meet the Music-Meet the Musicians Chamber Music In a Vienna Café highlights Mozart: Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493 and Schubert: Quintet in C major, D 956
Aug. 2 – 4 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘Passion for Dance’ features Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor; Mozart: Piano Concerto in G Major, K.453; and Brahms: Serenade No.2, Op. 16

Guest Artists: Ana Vidovic, Guitar & Jeremy McCoy, Contrabass
Aug. 7 – 7:15 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘Spanish Fire’ consists of Rodrigo: Zarabanda lejana y Villancico; Piazzolla: Tangazo; Arriaga: Symphony in D major; Rodrigo: Concerto de Aranjuez for Guitar
Aug. 8 – 7:15 p.m. Meet the Music-Meet the Musicians Chamber Music ‘Latin Embrace’ features Boccherini: Quintet for Guitar and Strings, 4th movement, "Fandango;” Frederico Moreno Torroba: Sonatina for Guitar; Joaquin Turína: "La Oraciõn del Torero" for String Quartet; Enrique Granados: Piano Trio, Opus 50
Aug. 9 – 4 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘Hollywood in Tahoe’ includes Bernard Hermann: Suite from “Psycho;” Rota: Divertimento Concertante for Double Bass; Copland: Music for Movies; Patrick Doyle: Sense and Sensibility

Guest Artists: Nathan Hughes, Oboe & Paul Watkins, Cello
Aug. 14 – 7:15 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘Hero’s Passage’ highlights Paul Watkins as the guest conductor; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Richard Strauss: Concerto for oboe; Haydn: Symphony No. 104
Aug. 15 – 7:15 p.m. Meet the Music-Meet the Musicians Chamber Music ‘White Nights, Golden Moons’ includes Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Quintet in B-flat major and Tchaikovsky: String Sextet "Souvenir de Florence"
Aug. 16 – 4 p.m. Orchestra Concert ‘The Danube-Baltic Express’ consists of Mozart: Serenade No. 12; Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme; Beethoven: Symphony No. 2

Tickets are $85 for adults, $15 for children 15 and under, $20 for students and include reserved seating, free parking, and complimentary desserts following the performance. The first six rows of reserved seats are $100. All purchases are transferable and can change selected performance based on seat availability at www.tahoesummerfest.org. In addition, organizers will provide complimentary admission to a child from service groups such as Boys & Girls Clubs, Snowboard Outreach Society, Tahoe Family Solutions Camp Explore, Boreal Sierra Nevada Journeys and Kid’s Summer Camps at area resorts to attend a free family concert on Aug. 1.

For additional information, updates and deals sign up for Lake Tahoe SummerFest’s newsletter and follow on Facebook.