A Message from the Artistic Director

Dr. Noreen Green, Artistic Director
Los Angeles Jewish Symphony

The idea of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony was cultivated in the mountains of Colorado at the Aspen Music Festival. That summer was eventful in that it changed the course of my life in many ways. As the concept of the Jewish Symphony was being discussed, my mentor, Maestro Murry Sidlin, told me to sit down and write a wish list of the possible concerts I could dream of performing with the Jewish Symphony. Very near the top of the list was the idea of commissioning an oratorio by Jewish women on strong Jewish women to be perfomed by women soloists and to be conducted by me, a woman conductor. That dream will finally come to life on Sunday afternoon, April 16, 2000, at Royce Hall.

The Women of Valor concert has been in the planning stages since 1994. That summer in Aspen I also made the acquaintance of someone who has turned out to be a lifetime friend. Andrea Clearfield and I met the first day of our stay in Aspen. She was in the composition program and I was in the conducting program. Our paths did not cross much at the festival. However, one Friday night, we saw each other at Shabbat services at the Aspen Jewish Center. I sat down to play the piano and sing and she sat next to me, and we've been the best of friends ever since. This Women of Valor concert is our destiny, and who better to make our dream a reality than Hadassah, the largest Jewish women's organization in the world? I cannot express my gratitude enough to the women of Hadassah Southern California who are making my dreams come true: I am truly blessed.

The concert will feature the World Premiere of the oratorio, Women of Valor by Andrea, and also the works of several other Jewish women composers. We open with an Ouverture by Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix's sister and musical confidant. We then continue with Like Streams in the Desert, a wonderful work by American Jewish composer Meira Warshauer, and conclude our first half with Strings, Bow and Arrow by Tsippi Fleischer, an Israeli composer whose piece is scored for solo violin (performed by our concertmaster, Mark Kashper), strings, and Arabic drum. The entire second half will consist of the new work and will feature two extraordinary soloists, Hila Plitmann and Gail Dubinbaum. Read more about the Women of Valor oratorio in this issue's featured interview with composer Andrea Clearfield.

Finally, don't forget to save the date June 11, 2000, for our season finale: Grossinger's...The Last Resort!

Dr. Noreen Green