Five things to know about this weekend’s Fresno Philharmonic Masterworks concert
By Donald Munro
The Fresno Philharmonic’s Masterworks concert this weekend is titled “Bernstein and Barber.” Here are Five Things to Know:
1.
It’s a fine way to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. (Concerts are 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, at Shaghoian Hall. The orchestra is making two connections: Guest artist is is the prominent Black vocal soloist Karen Slack. And Leonard Bernstein, whose “Fancy Free” will be performed, is “a lifelong advocate for civil rights.”
2.
Slack is a familiar name for Philharmonic fans: She performed as soloist in 2023 with the orchestra as part of a performance of Damien Geter’s “The Justice Symphony.” Back then I wrote: “At one point in ‘Precious Lord,’ a solo tuba and trombone joined soloist Karen Slack (whose impeccable and meaty vocals made the piece soar) in a dazzling interlude, giving the moment the jaunty feel of a New Orleans funeral march.”
3.
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It features a guest conductor. Tito Muñoz was music director of the Phoenix Symphony through the 2023-24 season, and he continues the relationship with the orchestra as a newly appointed artistic partner, He was previously the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra.
4.
The orchestra’s music director, Rei Hotoda, has a strong affinity for the work of composer Adolphus Hailstork. I interviewed him in 2019 when the orchestra performed the professional and West Coast premiere of Hailstork’s “To Those Who Serve.” Hailstork is considered one of this country’s leading African-American composers and has composed major works in nearly all musical genres, from musical comedy to solo piano and choral works. wrote “To Those Who Serve” as a commission for Symphonicity, a community orchestra in Norfolk, Virginia. You can read my interview and recap of his career here. At this most recent concert, the orchestra will perform Hailstork’s “Fanfare on Amazing Grace.”
5.
The program includes George Walker’s “Lyric for Strings.” The work is dedicated to Walker’s grandmother, Melvina King, a formerly enslaved person, who died shortly before its completion.
