Brian Schuldt leads the combined choir and orchestra in a 2006 performance

News Release

ESCC Mammoth Campus

Winter Orchestra & Choir Concert at ESCC Mammoth

November 27, 2007

Cerro Coso Community College presents its two music ensembles in a free winter concert, Sunday December 2, 7:00 PM at St. Joseph 's Catholic Church. On the program are holiday favorites by Robert Shaw, Leroy Anderson and G.F. Handel, as well as beloved works by Mozart and Maurice Ravel. All together, over 80 talented local musicians will be sharing the stage in this annual event.

The Eastern Sierra Community Choir opens the program with Many Moods of Christmas, an arrangement of Christmas carols by Robert Shaw. The carols are arranged in suites of which the choir will sing suites 1 and 3. Stephanie Everson will conduct the forty-voice choir, presenting the beautiful and heart-warming carols.

The Felici Trio's Brian Schuldt then leads the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra in Mozart's comical Overture to Cosi Fan Tutte followed by Maurice Ravel's masterpiece, Suite from Mother Goose. Barbara Herriman, a Ridgecrest native, makes a special appearance in the Ravel, playing the rarely-heard contrabassoon in the movement entitled "Beauty and the Beast" (the contrabassoon is the beast...).

For the finales, the groups combine in two adored seasonal works. Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride is a lively yet wistful trip over the snow-covered hills, accompanied by an array of orchestra sounds imitating sleigh bells, whip cracks and even a horse's ninny! The Hallelujah chorus from The Messiah concludes the concert.

The Eastern Sierra Community Choir meets each week as a Cerro Coso Community College class. Classes are offered at both the Mammoth and Bishop campuses and are made up of people from the community who like to sing. The choir welcomes new members. This concert marks the second year Everson has been the choir director of the Eastern Sierra Community Choir although she has been involved in the choir since she moved to the area nine years ago. Stephanie received her bachelor and master of music education from USC and enjoys the opportunity to share choral music with the communities of the Eastern Sierra.

The chamber orchestra was founded in 1985 and meets weekly alternating at Cerro Coso Community College in Mammoth and Bishop. Brian Schuldt was invited to take the baton in 2002. Brian has a master's degree in cello performance from Indiana University and is a member of the Felici Trio, who has performed over 350 critically-acclaimed concerts on three continents. The Felici Trio's next appearance is in The Nutcracker, Dec 14 and 15 at Mammoth High School, 7:00 PM.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Joann Handeland, Director of Public Information (760) 384-6230