STORY AND LINKS: Pacific Serenades presents 99th world premiere for opening concert of its 25th season

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
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Pacific Serenades: Opening Concert of 25th season
World premiere of Chamber Jams by Dwayne Milburn.
Also music by Bach, Handel and Teleman
• Saturday, January 29; 8 p.m. at a private home in Fremont Place
• Sunday, January 30; 4 p.m. at the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena
• Tuesday, February 8, at 8 p.m. at the UCLA Faculty Center in Westwood
Info: www.pacser.org
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It’s considered bad form in our craft for a writer to use a news release almost verbatim but I’ll make an exception for the opening concert of Pacific Serenades’ 25th season this weekend because (a) I don’t have the time to interview Dwayne Milburn, composer of Chamber Jams, which will be the 99th world premiere by this innovative ensemble, and (b) publicist Jeanine Baines included interesting, illuminating interviews with Milburn and Pacific Serenades founder Mark Carlson in her news release this week. No need to reinvent the wheel in this case.
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It’s not an accident that Pacific Serenades’ opening concert, “99/25” — which will take place on Saturday, January 29 at 8 p.m. at a private home in Los Angeles; Sunday, January 30 at 4 p.m. at Neighborhood Church in Pasadena; and Tuesday, February 8 at 8 p.m. at the UCLA Faculty Center on the UCLA campus in Westwood — will have a decidedly baroque flavor, featuring works by such composers as Bach and Handel.

“Our 99th world premiere — Chamber Jams by Dwayne Milburn — draws on elements of baroque music,” explains flutist and composer Mark Carlson, Pacific Serenades’ founder. “You’ll notice this influence especially in the first movement. But, as Dwayne pointed out to us, even the second movement, Blues, which is based on a 12-bar blues progression, is not so different from a baroque chaconne.”

However, Chamber Jams — written for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord — also reflects Milburn’s “obsession with the driving rhythms” of the gospel music he heard as a child.

“Everyone in my family has been in three major careers: as teachers, as members of the armed services, and as church musicians,” says Milburn, who in addition to being a composer and conductor is a major in the U.S. Army.

Uniting these influences is the harpsichord, Milburn continues. “I’ve come to understand that, like rhythm guitar in Stevie Wonder and everyone else, the harpsichord provides information that the other instruments can ride on top of,” says Milburn who, after graduating from West Point, earned his MM in orchestral conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music and his PhD in composition from UCLA.

“The Army has always given me access to really great musicians. It also gave me the habit of being able to work quickly, since you’re always working against deadline,” Milburn adds. “And getting real-time response from those great musicians helped me develop a strong automatic-edit function and a very reliable inner ear.”

In addition to Chamber Jams, which Milburn describes as his Army Rondo, Pacific Serenades will present Bach’s Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1039 for flute, oboe and basso continuo; Sonata No. 6 in A major, G 4 for cello and harpsichord by Boccherini; Handel’s Sonata in B minor, HMV 367 for flute and basso continuo; and Telemann’s Sonata in D minor, TWV 41:d2 for oboe and basso continuo. Artists include Mark Carlson, flute; Jonathan Davis, oboe; David Speltz, cello; and Patricia Mabee, harpsichord.

As Pacific Serenades embarks upon its 25th season of music making, Carlson credits much of the award winning ensemble’s success to its unique programming. “Part of our success is unquestionably due to our placing a single premiered work in the midst of traditional repertoire,” says Carlson, the recipient of more than 50 commissions in all genres, from art songs, chamber and choral music, and concertos to songs for musical theater. “I can’t stress enough how important it is for people to hear — and play — a new piece in the context of the masterpieces of the past. This reminds us that new music is part of an ongoing tradition. I can’t tell you what fun it is to get to bring a new piece to life.”

Tickets for “99/25” are available online, at www.pacser.org, or by calling 213/534-3434. Tickets for private Home concerts and the post concert reception are $55/person; for the Neighborhood Church and UCLA Faculty Center, $32/person. (Neighborhood Church and UCLA Faculty Center tickets are also interchangeable.) Full-time students with valid identification can purchase tickets — at the door only — at the Neighborhood Church or UCLA Faculty Center for $5.

The Neighborhood Church is located at 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena. The Gamble House museum, next door to the church, offers a discounted tour at $8/person to Pacific Serenades patrons on concert dates only. Tours begin promptly at 2 pm and at 2:40 pm and last approximately one hour. Reservations are required and must be made at least 48 hours in advance of the concert date by calling 626/793-3334, ext. 16.

The UCLA Faculty Center is located at 405 N. Hilgard Ave. on the UCLA campus in Westwood. Parking is available for $10 in Lot 2. In addition, prior to each concert, dinner at the UCLA Faculty Center is available for Pacific Serenades patrons; reservations can be made by calling 310/825-0877.

Bio information on Milburn, Carlson and the soloist can be found HERE.
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.