What the Critics are Saying
Electrifying performances. The ensemble, under Kohl’s avid direction, gave just the right blend of public rhetoric and intimate delicacy.
Kohl painted the music in bold primary colors lending a muscular account that never dawdled. Kohl possesses superior podium instincts and selects repertoire with an ear for avoiding the obvious.
Precision, power, beauty under Maestro Kohl's masterful leadership.
True flair. Kohl’s reading threw the overture’s sudden, full force orchestral chords into stark relief…the ending seemed to stop time.
Mozart could not have been in better hands.
What the Audiences are Saying
From anonymous surveys:
“[I was] mesmerized by the brilliance of the performance.”
“The performance was emotionally engaging, filling my senses, and moved me to tears and to joy; the conductor’s and performers’ joy and commitment to the composition felt very inviting.”
“Flawless interpretation, emotionally and spiritually moving.”
“It really was an evening of renewal. All the frustrations, fears and loneliness of the last 16 months [of COVID-19 lockdown] disappeared.”
“Enriched, renewed, inspired.”
“Great selections, beautifully played, enthusiastic/joyful presentation and audience”
“An opportunity to hear a first-class orchestra close to home. No need to cross the bridge or deal with traffic.
The venue was very comfortable and safe in today’s health climate issues.”
“Very uplifting, spirited, and profound! “
“Thrilling.”
What Teachers are Saying (about the Discover Music elementary school assemblies):
“Entertaining and educational.”
“Perfect balance of talking and playing. Kids loved it and were very engaged.”
“Awesome!”
“PLEASE COME AGAIN!!!”
“What a treat it was to host the Pacific Chamber Orchestra Quintet on Friday. The assemblies were engaging, informative, and at the level of the students. Staff and students alike found the assemblies to be enjoyable. It is wonderful to be able to focus on the magic and power of music. “
– Andrea Withers, Vice Principal, Valley View Elementary School, Pleasanton
Review January 2020
Pacific Chamber Orchestra Performs Handel’s Masterpiece Messiah
I am actually not a Handel fan. When it comes to the Baroque I’d usually rather listen to Bach or Vivaldi. But Messiah, performed with all the passion and expert musicianship it deserves by the Pacific Chamber Orchestra this weekend (November 30, December 1), is an exception. When done well It is one of the most transporting musical and theatrical experiences I ever have – and it works its magic on me year after year.
On Saturday night I sat in rapt attention in the beautiful Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church and from the moment tenor sang his first plaintive words, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,” I found myself hanging on every syllable and was completely swept away. In fact each of the solo voices was extraordinary in its beauty and power to move. The tenor, Ricardo Garcia was at times lilting and lyrical, at times intense with excitement. The bass, Ben Brady felt like the voice of God when singing about him. The alto, mezzo-soprano Silvie Jensen, was alternately piercing and dramatic and gentle and embracing. And the soprano, Marnie Breckenridge, soared, sometimes like a humming bird and sometimes like an eagle carrying us higher and higher in sound and emotion.
This group of performers led with so much talent and enthusiasm by the ebullient Lawrence Kohl has what it takes.
The work in its entirety runs 3.5 hours and I thought the cuts that maestro Lawrence Kohl, PCO’s director, made to perform it at a reasonable 2.5 hours instead worked beautifully, bringing to my attention certain parts of the work that I realized I’d never really listened to before. Another successful innovation was having all four soloists singing together, “Their sound is gone out,” instead of by the chorus! There is no place in the original version where we hear all four voices performing as a quartet and the effect here is thrilling.
I also appreciated hearing Messiah performed with a chamber rather than a symphony-sized orchestra. It allowed me to hear the instruments and their pairings with each other and with the voices more clearly which made the whole experience more intimate and personal.
Finally there was for me the surprise of an encore performance of the Hallelujah chorus with chorus members dispersed throughout the church and we, the audience members, invited to join in. As I plunged ahead with the illusion that I knew exactly what I was in for I was stunned by the complexity of it – nothing I ever fully appreciated before with the sound in front of me instead of all around me. It left me exhilarated and exhausted and – as the work is meant to do – in awe.
This is the second concert of the Pacific Chamber Orchestra I’ve attended, the first being an impressive performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Living in Marin as I do and with so much wonderful music happening in San Francisco and Berkeley it takes a lot to get me through the Caldecott Tunnel for a concert. This group of performers led with so much talent and enthusiasm by the ebullient Lawrence Kohl has what it takes. Their next program, aptly named “The Passionate” (Piazzolla, Vivaldi, Telemann and Shostakovich) on March 21st and 22nd is not to be missed. https://www.pacificchamberorchestra.org/
JULIE MOTZ
Host of ART’S DESIRE – KWMR – FM
Pt. Reyes Radio Station
