Features

Berkeley Symphony Music Director Joseph Young Leads the Orchestra in Its First Live Performance Since February 2020 at Bruns Amphitheater, Wednesday August 4th at 7:30 and Conducts a Symphony Ensemble in the third Free Berkeley Symphony Live! At the Plaza.

For its first live performance before an audience in almost a year and a half, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by music director Joseph Young in a diverse program featuring selections from the classical repertoire alongside contemporary compositions by Gabriela Lena Frank, Brian Raphael Nabors and Jesse Montgomery, at Bruns Amphitheater, overlooking the Siesta Valley in Orinda, home of California Shakespeare, with actors from Cal Shakes joining the Symphony to speak passages from Goethe's drama 'Egmont' for the Beethoven orchestral piece it inspired--Wednesday, August 4th at 7:30 pm. Gates open at 6. Preconcert dining available. 

Single tickets are $50, available online at: http://www.berkeleysymphony.org or by phone at: (510) 841-2800 ext. 1. All attendees must show proof of vaccination. 

And on Thursday, August 5th at 5:30 pm, Maestro Young and an ensemble of string players from the Symphony will play a free community concert at the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza, the third in the Berkeley Symohony Live! On the Plaza series. Music director Young was introduced to the community at the first concert in the series, when audience members of different ages were invited to conduct with Young's guidance. The program will include works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Vivian Fung and Jesse Montgomery. 

The program for the night of the 4th at the Bruns Amphitheater will include--Brian Nabors: 'Iubilo,' Rossini: Overture from 'Barber of Seville,' Beethoven: incidental music from 'Egmont' Op. 84, Gabriela Lena Frank: 'Elegía Adina,' Tchaikovsky: Waltz from 'Serenade for Strings,' Jesse Montgomery: 'Strum,' Bizet (arranged by Kerenyi): Suite from 'Carmen,' J. S. Bach (arranged by Hyken): 'Toccata y Fuga.' 

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