Fall concert series begins at Cuyamaca College

Posted on: Aug 23, 2018 12:00:00 PM
In: District, Cuyamaca
Arts and Culture
Contact: David Ogul david.ogul@gcccd.edu

A wide range of musical styles - from Korean folk to the soundtrack of Guardians of the Galaxy - is coming to Cuyamaca College's Samuel M. Ciccati Theatre courtesy of the the annual Fall Concert Series that launches Aug. 27.

Most performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with ticket prices set at $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors, unless otherwise noted. Guests can call (619) 660-4288 for reservations, and the first 20 students who attend are admitted for free.

• The Fall Concert Series kicks off Monday, Aug. 27, when jazz pianist extraordinaire Chase Morrin, who gave the premiere performance at the theater when it opened 10 years ago, returns with DoYeon Kim, a South Korean virtuoso on the gayageum, a traditional instrument of her homeland, for a selection of their original award-winning music.
• The Jeff Tower Memorial Quartet, named after the late Hemet High school icon who taught scores of students who went on to careers as music educators or performers, performs Friday, Sept. 21. The band, led by Hemet High School alumnus and Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Chair Taylor Smith, is comprised of graduates of the high school's program, some who also attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Tower died on July 4, 2017. Under his leadership, the Hemet High School band recorded several albums and performed across the world.
• Cindy Wu on violin and Orion Weiss on the piano will perform Thursday, Oct. 11 for the first in this year's ECHO Chamber Music Series, a program of chamber music concerts featuring some of the finest young musicians in the world. The duo will perform a selection of Mozart violin sonatas. ECHO is an acronym for the East County Harmonics Organization.
• The Reka Parker Jazz Quartet returns to the Samuel M. Ciccati Performing Arts Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The quartet, a regular at the Cuyamaca Fall and Spring Concert Series, includes Reka Bodis-Parker on piano, Taylor Smith on bass, Grossmont College Music Department Chair Derek Cannon on trumpet, and Bob Daniels on drums.
• Kembang Sunda, an Indonesian Gamelan ensemble, comes to the stage on Monday, Nov. 5. Gamelan ensembles developed in the ancient courts of Java and Bali, and primarily consist of tuned bronze percussive instruments. Directed by Amy Hacker, a Cuyamaca College music instructor, Kembang Sunda has been performing throughout the region since 2007.
• The second performance in the ECHO Chamber Music Series takes place Friday, Nov. 9 with a piano/woodwind performance featuring Jessie Chang and principals from the San Diego Symphony. Music by Beethoven, Stravinsky and other classical masters is on tap.
• The Cuyamaca College Concert Band will perform on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Among the works being featured are portions of Symphony No. 10 by David Maslanka, who passed away last August while completing the piece. Cuyamaca College was part of an international consortium that commissioned the work by one of the world's most prominent composers of music for wind ensembles.
• The Cuyamaca College Rock, Pop, and Soul Ensemble: performing the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy on Thursday, Nov. 29.
• World-renowned pianist, recitalist, chamber musician and Columbia University faculty associate Reiko Uchida will pair with violinist Brian Chen, a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Formosa Quartet, for a Dec. 4 ECHO Chamber Music Series performance featuring classical works by Schubert.
• The Fall Concert Series wraps up Dec. 5 with a performance by the Cuyamaca and Grossmont Concert Bands.

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego. For further information, call (619) 660-4627 or visit cuyamaca.edu/performingarts.