The Claremont Concert Orchestra, led by conductor Michael Deane Lamkin, will perform on Saturday, February 24, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, February 25, at 3 p.m. in the Garrison Theater, Scripps College Performing Arts Center. The orchestra, featuring soprano Shayna Foreman, Scripps class of 2007, will perform works by Italian masters. The theater, located at 241 East 10th Street, is wheelchair accessible. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Scripps College Department of Music at (909) 607-3267.
The program will feature Vincenzo Bellini’s “Oh quante volte” from I Capuletti e I Montecchi,Gaetano Donizetti’s Scena: “Regnava nel silencio” from Lucia di Lammermoor,Ottorino Respighi’s Feste Romane and Pines of Rome, and Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
The Claremont Concert Orchestra is an ensemble of student musicians from The Claremont Colleges and Claremont-area musicians specializing in the performance of a repertoire from the 18th-through the mid-20th centuries. The orchestra, highly regarded for its expressive range and enthusiastic performances, was founded in 1977 under the sponsorship of the Joint Music Program of Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Scripps colleges. The Claremont Concert Orchestra is a member of the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Association of California Symphony Orchestras.
Michael Deane Lamkin is music director and conductor of the Claremont Concert Orchestra and the Bessie and Cecil Frankel Professor of Music at Scripps College. The Dean of Faculty at Scripps College, Dr. Lamkin received degrees from Baylor University and the University of Iowa. In his work as conductor, Dr. Lamkin has performed throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, and Slovakia, and has held two guest appointments at the University of Iowa to conduct opera productions. A member of the conducting staff of the opera program at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany, he also worked with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, before beginning his association with the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, in 1984, where he is now artistic director and principal conductor.
The concerts are sponsored by the Joint Music Program of The Claremont Colleges, which offers many opportunities for music majors and other interested students to study music and participate in performances. The Joint Music Program ensembles such as the Claremont Concert Orchestra, the Concert Choir, and the Chamber Choir welcome qualified student members from all The Claremont Colleges.