John Anderson, who is conducting this Saturday’s Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra concert, honed the orchestra to fit the music pieces he wanted to share with audiences.
He gives French contemporary composer Andre Jolivet double billing, with performances of his 1954 Trumpet Concerto No. 2 and the Suite Liturgique.
“The Trumpet Concerto spins out of control. The percussion is going crazy,” Anderson says. “The Suite Liturgique is mystical, vaguely Oriental, very interested in the old Greek ways. These are two diametrically opposed pieces.”
There is a triptych of Spanish folk music-inspired pieces by Barcelona-born composer Carlos Surinach, and a relatively new piece for marimba, clarinet and piano called “Quietude” composed in the high Mojave desert by Carleton Macy.
Seaside composer Stephen Tosh recently completed a new composition, Concertino for Solo Violin and Ensemble; Anderson says they like to feature homegrown talent, so that got added into the mix, as did Youth Music Monterey County’s brass quintet.
Ensemble Monterey’s goal is to play music the audience hasn’t heard before, so Anderson gives a talk before the music program. Just because the evening rewards adventurousness, it doesn’t mean listeners can’t be prepared.
ENSEMBLE MONTEREY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 8pm Sat concert (7pm lecture) at St. Philip’s Lutheran Church, 8065 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. $20-$35. 333-1283, www.EnsembleMonterey.org