Musco Center Presents Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra

The groundbreaking conductorless Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra returns to Musco Center for the Arts on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at 4 pm with Rimsky-Korsakov's beloved Scheherazade and excerpts from four operas by Mozart and Puccini. The program for orchestra and voice will feature sopranos Axelle Fanyo and Jerica Steklasa, winners of Kaleidoscope's 2019 International Vocal Competition.

This is the first of two 2019-20 Season appearances by Los Angeles-based Kaleidoscope, which returns with a different program in May 2020. The pioneering conductorless orchestra made its acclaimed Musco Center debut during the 2018-19 Season.

Tickets, beginning at $25, are available at www.muscocenter.org or by calling the Musco box office at 844-OC-MUSCO (844-626-8726). Musco Center is located at 415 North Glassell, on the Chapman University campus in the city of Orange.

The Conductorless Orchestra

Now in their sixth season and recognized as one of the world's leading conductorless orchestras, Kaleidoscope has been critically acclaimed in the LA Times, Washington Post, and Symphony Magazine. More info about Kaleidoscope can be found at: www.kco.la.

The first half of the October 13 program will feature sopranos Axelle Fanyo of France and Jerica Steklasa of Slovenia, two winners of Kaleidoscope's International Vocal Competition, which received over 1,600 applications from musicians in 90 countries. Works performed include Mozart's "Ei parte . . . per pieta" from Cosi Fan Tutte, "Dove sono" and "Sull'aria" from Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as Puccini's "Si, mi chiamano Mimi" from La Boheme and "Un bel di vedremo" from Madame Butterfly.

The second half of the program continues with Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, one of the most beautiful and exciting works written for large orchestra. In the summer of 1888, the Russian composer wrote his symphonic suite about the fabled young bride of a Sultan who stays alive and in favor by spinning fascinating new stories each night. The dramatic source material gave Rimsky-Korsakov the themes and characters with which to apply the full range of orchestral voices - from deep bass instruments to high altos, like the solo violin that represents the careful storyteller as she intones her tale with the mesmerizing inflections of a snake charmer.

In 2015, Kaleidoscope won the heart of veteran KUSC broadcaster Rich Capparela, who, after attending a Kaleidoscope performance of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, said, it "was in my top handful of best concert experiences I've ever had. They're taking standard repertoire and somehow making it feel fresh again."

Kaleidoscope's performance is part of the Musco Master Class series, which deepens the benefits of most of the season's artists and groups for students and faculty. These events enable small groups of Chapman University students to learn from and work with exemplary artists and scholars whose subjects expand on University curricula.

Kaleidoscope will return to Musco Center for a second 2019-20 Season concert on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 4pm, performing Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 with over 70 musicians. This is Mahler's final work and one that Alban Berg described as "the expression of an unheard-of love for this earth."

Kaleidoscope's October 13, 2019 appearance begins at 4pm. Tickets, beginning at $25, are available at www.muscocenter.org or through the Musco box office by calling 844-OC-MUSCO (844-626-8726). All print-at-home tickets include a no-cost parking pass. Musco Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Chapman University at 415 North Glassell, Orange, Calif