By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — A world premiere will be featured at Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra’s concerts Saturday evening, April 7, 8:30 p.m. and Tuesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel Synagogue.
Unetane Tokef by composer John Michael Luther, will feature the East County Mormon Chorale and shofar soloist, Steven Ovitsky.
Ovitsky, who recorded Hugo Weisgall’s T’kiatot: Rituals for Rosh Hashanah with the Seattle Symphony on the Naxos label, Gerard Schwarz, conducting, is not only a shofar virtuoso, but is one of the nation’s foremost music administrators. He was the executive director of the Milwaukee Symphony from 1995-2003 and currently serves as the executive director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico, one of the world’s most prestigous chamber music festivals.
The energetic seventy-one year old executive director became acquainted with the composer when Luther moved to New Mexico. Born in Long Beach in 1942, with a long career playing trombone and bass trombone in Hollywood studios and teaching in Southern California schools, Luther decided to relocate to New Mexico, where he is a radio personality on station KHFM in Albuquerque. With degrees in Theology from Life Pacific College in Azusa, California, and a BA and MA in Composition from California State, Long Beach, he has written over 50 compositions, half of which have been published.
Many of his works are inspired by religious themes. His pieces have been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony,
In addition to Unetane Tokef which will be introduced by Tifereth Israel Synagogue’s new rabbi,
Joshua Dorsch, TICO will perform Rossini’s William Tell Overture and the Mormon Chorale will sing additional selections from Handel’s Judas Maccabeus and Haydn’s Creation.
TICO’s Conductor and Artistic Director, David Amos, continues his innovative, creative programming, reaching out for collaborators to talented entities in our community and throughout the world. This should be a concert worth experiencing.
*
Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com