Chamber music from the Baroque will be played in downtown Laguna Beach on Saturday night, when Kontrapunktus returns to Orange County.
The orchestra of nine promising young musicians will perform in the sanctuary of Laguna Presbyterian Church, where it first appeared in 2017.
At that time, Kontrapunktus encountered some obstacles. At least locally, the band had to deal with relative anonymity and a not-so-ideal show time. The performance took place in front of about twenty other people on a Sunday afternoon.
Since that day, Raymond Jacobs, executive director of Kontrapunktus, says the turnout at Laguna Beach has been exceptional. Jacobs said the attendance, along with the schedule, is a sign of how he’s arrived.
Kontrapunktus is coming to the end of its current functional series, in which the chamber music orchestra performs music by composers Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Performances in particular tend to take place in places of worship. Grace First Presbyterian Church in Long Beach booked for Friday.
The Laguna Presbyterian exhibit on Saturday begins at 7:30 p. m. The concert program ends Sunday evening with an appearance at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
“You have to take a look at the origins of the music and what drove it,” Jacobs said when asked about the venue selection. “In the Baroque period, the clergy exerted a primary influence on society as a whole. Most other people had to go to church at most every Sunday. It’s not necessarily a subculture. I think it’s more of a culture. in which even the most prolific composers were involved, to some extent, in collaboration with the clergy, Bach being the leader among them.
“Bach dedicated his entire life to writing choral music, sacred music, as it is called today. I try to find atmospheres that highlight the spirituality of the music, so that other people feel a greater connection to the music in that environment.
Musicians performing Saturday night will include Cameron Alan-Lee (concert leader), Leonard Fu (first violin), David Chang (second lead violin), Haesol Lee (violin), Cassia Drake (viola), Ethan Moffitt (double bass). Osheen Manukyan (cello), Keika Mori (harpsichord) and Aubree Oliverson (concert).
Laguna Presbyterian, founded in 1917, will be the setting for an official recording of the existing production, “Bach and Telemann: Collegium Musicum. “
The sanctuary was completed in 1928 and the choir in which the musicians will play was expanded in 1948. Restoration efforts at the sanctuary were completed in January 2010. This task included a repaving of the choir with Jerusalem limestone.
Several features help set the tone, adding four themed stained glass windows. The giant window, which faces 2d Street, was donated by the children and grandchildren of Sylvanus and Sabra Ferris, who founded the church’s founding congregation by holding Bible studies on their porch in the 1890s.
There are the stained glass windows of the Four Gospels, Saint Paul and the Good Shepherd.
“I think what our church offers is a much more intimate setting,” said Beth Pinney, associate pastor at Laguna Presbyterian. “It can fit probably another three hundred people [other people on the floor]. There were 250 of them, which is even bigger than the same old audience of chamber musicians.
Pinney highlighted the history of the church and its congregation, noting that he appreciates art and divine creation. Outdoor painter Anna Hills among the members when the church was officially organized in 1917, according to church records. Hills’ influence lives on in the sanctuary through the windows’ color palette.
Given this history, Pinney says it’s enough explanation for young artists in various mediums.
“If I take them to show them the paintings in the church, they can step back and pay attention to the wonderful music that this congregation has created for 107 years, it’s amazing,” Pinney said. “I think that’s the connection. I think we love intelligent art, we love glorious, exceptional music.
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Andrew Turner is a sports reporter for the Daily Pilot. Before joining Pilot in October 2016, he prepared sports as a freelance professional for the Orange County Register for 4 years. His paintings have also been used by the Associated Press and California Rubber Hockey Magazine. While attending Long Beach State, he wrote for the college newspaper The Daily 49er. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history. (714) 966-4611
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