Palisades Symphony to Host October 24 Concert

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Palisades Symphony will host an upcoming concert on Sunday, October 24, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be conducted by Director Joel B. Lish.

“We are returning to performance,” the Palisades Symphony website read. “The season as a whole has yet to be scheduled, but we are now planning a second concert, again with works written for a (now mask-wearing) string ensemble.”

This second concert follows one that took place on August 15, with works for string orchestra.

Sunday’s concert will feature a program of G.F. Handel’s “Concerto Grosso, Op. 6 No. 12,” P. Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings,” J.S. Bach’s “Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor,” G. Rossini’s “Sonata No. One” (arranged by Jan Kelley) and Aaron Copland’s “Hoe Down from Rodeo.” Other works will be announced.

“We continue our series of works playable by an ensemble of masked string players,” the Palisades Symphony website reported. “Along with the main work by Tchaikovsky and a great Fritz Kreisler showpiece for soloist Ken Aiso, we perform works by classical composers who drew on the music of the people—Grainger and Holst with English folksong (Holst memorably juxtaposes “Greensleeves” with “The Irish Washerwoman”), and Copland with his exhilarating barn dance.”

Aiso, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London studying with Erich Gruenbeg, is an internationally acclaimed violinist/violist who has performed worldwide as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, according to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Website. He has appeared as principal violin with the Orchestra of Enlightenment, London Philharmonic, Hallé and Scottish Chamber Orchestras.

“His belief in sound as a vibrational healing medium takes him to hospitals, schools and institutions for children with special needs,” LACO shared on its website.

Aiso has also been invited to music festivals around the world, including the UK, France, Sweden, Switzerland, India, Georgia, Bolivia and Kazakhstan. He has taught at Montecito Summer Music Festival dating back to 2008.

Founded in 1966, Palisades Symphony is a community orchestra that was created by Lish to “foster, promote and increase the musical knowledge and appreciation of the public” while working to “provide qualified musicians with a venue to perform.” The Symphony also affords “contemporary composers an opportunity to have their works performed and heard.”

In a typical year, Palisades Symphony has seven concerts, two of which feature Brentwood Palisades Chorale, a summer concert version opera and a Young Artists showcase concert, highlighting the talents of local students.

Admission to the concert, which will take place at Palisades Lutheran Church, located at 15905 Sunset Blvd., is free of charge.

“To protect our audience and our performers, face masks and vaccinations are required,” according to a program.