By Cory Bilicko
Entertainment Editor
Celebrating its twentieth year of bringing diverse music to the community, the all-volunteer Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra performed last Saturday night a splendid rendition of G.F. Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum and Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Los Altos United Methodist Church.
Under the direction of Eliza Rubenstein, who joined the chorale in 2003, the “amateur” group, which consists of teachers, nurses, artists, college students, grandparents and lawyers, passionately performed the two pieces, with accompanist Bob Gunn’s 20-plus years of musical experience on the piano.
Although te deums are typically Christian hymns of praise in thanksgiving to God for a special blessing, German export Handel, as Britain’s “Composer of the Musick to the Chapel Royal,” wrote Dettingen Te Deum to celebrate King George II’s return after his country’s victory over France at Dettingen, Bavaria, in 1743.
Mendelssohn wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1 when he was a mere 21 years old. Known for its pleasant melodies, liberal use of improvisation, and dazzling passagework, the Concerto demonstrates his passion for making the separate movements of symphonies and concertos work together seamlessly, and it promptly became popular with audiences.
It was similarly well liked last Saturday, as was the performance, as evidenced by the standing ovations they received. The accolades lauded on the Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra in the local press in the last few years have been well deserved; the fact that they’re composed of non-professionals makes the esteem that much sweeter.
Long Beach Chorale will be marking its two decades of melodious offerings with a weekend gala on Saturday, June 6 at 7pm and Sunday, June 7 at 3pm at Los Altos United Methodist Church, 5950 E. Willow Street. The musical focus will be favorites from their repertoire, as well as welcoming back alumni of the group to once again take the stage.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.longbeachchorale.org.
