Arts & Entertainment
A Ceremony of Cellos
"A Ceremony of Cellos" at the Firehouse Arts Center October 24th
Concert in Memory of Larry Granger
Pleasanton's newly-opened Firehouse Arts Center will host A Ceremony of Cellos in memory of the celebrated cellist, Larry Granger.
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Dan Reiter, principal cello of the Oakland East Bay Symphony, will lead an assemblage of prominent Bay Area cellists in a soulful exploration of the instrument's expressive powers in memory of Granger.
Granger grew up in Pleasanton and became known as the "Mr. Cello" of the Livermore-Amador Valley. He played with the Oakland and San Francisco Symphonies and taught cello at Cal State University, East Bay. Granger soloed with a number of community orchestras and ensembles, including Pleasanton Chamber Players and Livermore-Amador Symphony. At the time of his death in June of 2009, he was scheduled to perform with the Silicon Valley Symphony.
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Performing along with Dan Reiter will be cellists Gay Hagen Dunn of Pleasanton and Peter Bedrossian of Livermore; Paul Hale, Paul Rhodes, and Elizabeth Vandervennet of the Oakland East Bay Symphony and Russian cellist (by way of Sweden) Tamara Bohlin. Soprano soloist Alison Collins will perform in Bachianas Brasileiras. Pianist Priscilla Carter Granger will accompany Popper's Requiem and John Kendall Bailey, a well-known Bay Area conductor, will direct the two octets.
The cellists will perform music by William Byrd, Gesualdo da Venosa, David Popper, Emanuel Moor, Bach, Vivaldi and Stravinsky. The program includes:
Tregian's Ground, arr. D. Reiter; William Byrd (1543-1623)
from the Fitzwilliam Virginal BookRequiem; David Popper (1843-1913) Concerto Grosso in d minor, arr. Lazlo Varga; Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)Moro, lasso, al mio duolo, arr. D. Reiter; Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1560- 1613) Prelude and Fugue no. 4 in C sharp minor, arr. D. Reiter; J. S. Bach (1685-1750) From the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book IWilliam Tell the truth Overture - arr. D. Reiter (2010) Suite for Four Cellos, op. 95; Emanuel Moór (1863-1931) Andante sostenuto – Molto Allegro – Adagio – Allegro con brio Minuetto and Finale from Pulcinella, arr. D. Reiter; Igor Stravinsky (1882- 1970)Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5; Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) for Soprano and Orchestra of Violoncelli Aria (Cantilena) - Dansa (Martelo)Tickets are Adult-$16, $20 and $24; Child-$12 and Senior-$20. They may be purchased online at www.firehousearts.org to three hours prior to the performance, by phone at 925-931-4848, or in person at the Firehouse Arts Center Box Office.
Box Office hours are Wednesday-Friday, 12 noon-6:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., and for two hours prior to the performance. Group and series discounts are available. The entrance to free parking is located on Spring Street, near First Street.
About the Firehouse Arts Center
The Firehouse Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Pleasanton, opened in September 2010. The facility incorporates portions of the city's first fire station, built in 1929 with bricks from a local foundry. Highlights of the new downtown arts venue include a 227-seat flexible studio theater, 2,000 square feet of high-quality art exhibit space in the Harrington Gallery, two large arts classrooms, and a spacious lobby for receptions and events. A full schedule of arts experiences at the Firehouse Arts Center include music of all genres, drama, comedy and youth programming as well as visual arts exhibits. Detailed information is available at www.firehousearts.org.
