Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Mahler done right for San Diego

Andrew Megill
Andrew Megill

Some unavoidable conflicts thwarted my plans to go to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 on Saturday, April 22. By all accounts, it was a lovely performance. Yet, at the end of the day, it is still Mahler’s Fourth. Of all the fourths that are in the standard repertoire, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler’s is in last place. I think it comes down to the fact that I’m just not buying Mahler’s optimism. His Sixth? Yes. The Ninth? One hundred percent. The Second? For sure and I just came across some interesting news about The San Diego Symphony’s performance of the Second in the fall.

According to The San Diego Symphony website, there are chorus auditions coming up in May for the performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in November. This is a significant development. According to the website, there are two categories of choristers. There are the volunteers and there are the paid professionals. The audition requirements are different for both categories.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The professionals will be paid an honorarium of $650. The time commitment, including the performances, is not expected to exceed 22 hours. The rehearsals have been condensed into a one-week window which could attract some choral talent from Orange County and Los Angeles. The deadline to submit your information is Monday, May 1.

Video:

Mahler: "Resurrection"

If you’ve read this column for any length of time, then you know I have consistently criticized The San Diego Symphony for using choruses that are not in line with the artistic aspirations of the conductor or the orchestra.

The San Diego Symphony is taking action in a big way. The chorus master for Mahler’s Second is Andrew Megill. He was recently named Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. The following comes from the Northwestern website.

“Megill is recognized as one the leading choral conductors of his generation, admired for both his passionate artistry and his unusually wide-ranging repertoire, which extends from early music to newly composed works. He is currently professor and director of choral activities at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), where he leads the oldest doctoral program in choral conducting in the United States. In addition, he leads Music of the Baroque (Chicago), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale, and Fuma Sacra. Prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois, he taught at Westminster Choir College for more than 20 years.”

Dr. Megill has prepared choirs for, The Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonie, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Venice Baroque Orchestra for conductors including Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Joseph Flummerfelt, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Rafael Payare.

That is a resume that is in line with what The San Diego Symphony is trying to accomplish with these November concerts of Mahler. These concerts will also be the first to utilize the Choral Terrace in the renovated Jacobs Music Center.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Andrew Megill
Andrew Megill

Some unavoidable conflicts thwarted my plans to go to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 on Saturday, April 22. By all accounts, it was a lovely performance. Yet, at the end of the day, it is still Mahler’s Fourth. Of all the fourths that are in the standard repertoire, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler’s is in last place. I think it comes down to the fact that I’m just not buying Mahler’s optimism. His Sixth? Yes. The Ninth? One hundred percent. The Second? For sure and I just came across some interesting news about The San Diego Symphony’s performance of the Second in the fall.

According to The San Diego Symphony website, there are chorus auditions coming up in May for the performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in November. This is a significant development. According to the website, there are two categories of choristers. There are the volunteers and there are the paid professionals. The audition requirements are different for both categories.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The professionals will be paid an honorarium of $650. The time commitment, including the performances, is not expected to exceed 22 hours. The rehearsals have been condensed into a one-week window which could attract some choral talent from Orange County and Los Angeles. The deadline to submit your information is Monday, May 1.

Video:

Mahler: "Resurrection"

If you’ve read this column for any length of time, then you know I have consistently criticized The San Diego Symphony for using choruses that are not in line with the artistic aspirations of the conductor or the orchestra.

The San Diego Symphony is taking action in a big way. The chorus master for Mahler’s Second is Andrew Megill. He was recently named Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. The following comes from the Northwestern website.

“Megill is recognized as one the leading choral conductors of his generation, admired for both his passionate artistry and his unusually wide-ranging repertoire, which extends from early music to newly composed works. He is currently professor and director of choral activities at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), where he leads the oldest doctoral program in choral conducting in the United States. In addition, he leads Music of the Baroque (Chicago), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale, and Fuma Sacra. Prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois, he taught at Westminster Choir College for more than 20 years.”

Dr. Megill has prepared choirs for, The Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonie, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Venice Baroque Orchestra for conductors including Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Joseph Flummerfelt, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Rafael Payare.

That is a resume that is in line with what The San Diego Symphony is trying to accomplish with these November concerts of Mahler. These concerts will also be the first to utilize the Choral Terrace in the renovated Jacobs Music Center.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Songwriter Sanctuary, B-Side Players, The Crawdaddys, Saint Luna, Brawley

Reunited, in the round, and onstage in Normal Heights, East Village, Little Italy, Encinitas
Next Article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader