DOWNEY - In 2007, when Sharon Lavery became our new Music Director, she offered three proposals to the Downey Symphony Board: grow and expand the excellence of the orchestra shaped by her predecessor, Dr. Tom Osborn; sponsor a Young Artist Competition annually; and perform a new work every year. The Board liked the proposals. Check, check, check.

So now, as the orchestra begins a new season on Saturday, Nov. 2, the elements are securely in place. The program is titled "O Brave New World," and includes Dvorak's evergreen symphony "From the New World," and Rossini's infectious overture, "The Thieving Magpie." In the words of one writer, "...it takes a crack ensemble to realize the brilliance" of this work. Come hear it happen.

The soloist for this concert is our Young Artist winner from 2012, clarinetist Joseph Morris, playing Mozart's Concerto in A Major. Sharon Lavery herself specialized in clarinet in earlier years, so she knows quite a bit about that brave world, and says, "Joe's understanding of Mozart is very mature...He is a gifted musician who is destined for a great career." Come hear this work in progress too.

Concert time is 8 p.m. in the theater at 8435 Firestone Blvd. at the corner of Brookshire, with free parking. The box office opens for tickets at 6:30 p.m., and Sharon's pre-concert talk, to enhance our understanding and appreciation of the music, begins at 7:15. You'll want to allow time for wine or coffee in the lobby, and to chat with artist Carolina Estrada-Del Toro, whose nature photography is on display for this event.

Tickets are $35, $30 and $10, and you may order by phoning (562) 861-8211. A visit to our website at downeysymphony.org will tell you about the next exciting concerts.

In addition to bringing fine music to Downey, the Symphony Board is committed to furthering its Music in the Schools programs, which reach every elementary school child in the entire Downey Unified School District. Every year.

In fact, our third-graders go on a magical field trip next week to this very same theater to hear this very same orchestra, live, on that big stage. But the program will be different, prepared especially for these eager kids - they get Beethoven. The four sections of the orchestra will demonstrate their various instruments, and at the appropriate moment the lady conductor dons a pirate costume.

Bet it makes you wanna be a third-grader again.

********** Published: Oct. 24, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 28