St. Matthew’s Music Guild will hold its annual holiday concert at 8 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 8, with a program of baroque holiday classics by Corelli, Bach and Handel, and featuring organist and pianist Haesung Park.
Park was the first-prize winner of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition in 2014 and holds degrees from Korean National University of Arts, Boston University and USC. She has appeared in recital with members of the L.A. Philharmonic and the Santa Barbara Symphony.
Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto will be led by conductor Tomasz Golka and will feature violinist Yi-Huan Zhao and cellist Robin Guyett-Neenan. Corelli probably composed the concerto da chiesa “for the night of Christmas” as early as 1690. The work has enjoyed great popularity, partially because of its peaceful “Pastorale” finale.
Although Johann Sebastian Bach’s D Minor Keyboard Concerto is one of his most frequently performed concerti, it is uncertain for which instrument Bach intended the solo part—violin or harpsichord. The opening gesture in the orchestra, with its energetic unison statement of the theme, is one that many will recognize.
Georg Friedrich Handel wrote his ora- torio Messiah in 1741. Although the initial reaction was modest, the piece steadily gained in popularity until it became one of the most famous choral works in Western music. The concert will feature a suite from Part 1 and will conclude with an audience sing-along of the famous “Hallelujah” chorus—one of the immediately recognizable pieces of classical music. Featured soloists are Diane Plaster, Sara Campbell, Nate Widelitz and Edward Levy.
The concert will take place in the St. Matthew’s sanctuary, 1031 Bienveneda Ave. Admission at the door is $35 and discounted season passes are available.
For more information, call 310-573-7422 or visit MusicGuildOnline.org.
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