Santa Cecilia Orchestra under the baton of Music Director/Conductor Sonia Marie De Leon de Vega will perform an orchestra concert at Occidental College, Thorne Hall, Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
The program includes Moncayo’s Huapango, one of Mexico’s most popular compositions, Chavez’s Sinfonia India which is considered one of his most nationalistic works, combing modernism and indigenous themes, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring captures the essence of an ideal America, one of open fields and endless possibilities, and soloist Deborah Buck performs Barber’s violin concerto, a virtuoso showpiece.
Sonia Marie De Leon de Vega is one of the most commanding figures in music in the region – Her exhilarating vision for classical music is energizing the arts in our community in many ways. She has recently received international attention on Univision’s “Orgullo Hispano” a profile that is reserved for the most accomplished Hispanic artists in the world. She was voted as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics in the United States” and voted one of the “80 Elite Hispanic Women” by Hispanic Business Magazine. Last September Ms. De Leon de Vega was named Local Hero by KCET which aired a profile on Ms. De Leon de Vega throughout Hispanic Heritage Month.
De Vega is also energizing the arts through the Orchestra’s educational and outreach program “Discovering Music.” The program introduces Latino children and families in underserved areas in Los Angeles to classical music and the instruments of the orchestra, and provides orchestra concerts in their own community. The program includes children’s choirs and an extensive instrumental program that provides free violin lessons to over 200 children in the communities of Northeast Los Angeles.
Violinist, Deborah Buck, will perform Barber’s Violin Concerto. Ms. Buck is a member of the Lark Quartet. She has built a strong musical career as soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist. Ms. Buck’s recitals have been heard over the airways via broadcasts of the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago for WFMT and for “Sunday’s Live” in Los Angeles for KKGO. Additionally, she has been a recitalist at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC and soloist with many orchestras including the Little Orchestra Society at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the West Virginia Symphony. Her National television debut came by way of a feature guest spot on the Family Channel’s, “It Takes Two” hosted by Dick Clark. Her violin solos for television helped breathe life back into the re-mastered American Silent Film classic, “The Scarlet Letter,”(Turner Classic Movies).
There will be one performance only of this program at 4:00 p.m., Sunday, February 10 at the Thorne Hall, Occidental College. Tickets, priced at , (adults) and for youth. Tickets are available by calling the Santa Cecilia Orchestra Office at (323) 259-3011 or logging onto www.scorchestra.org to purchase on-line.