For the past ten years that this web site has been in cyberspace, we always like to start out the New Year with a unique and different production, hoping it will set the tone for the coming year. Last year we opened the year by covering “Of Mice and Men” at the Pasadena Playhouse; a production that had an almost all Hispanic cast and presented the play from a Mexican laborer’s point of view.

So what to do this year? When the press release arrived late in December announcing a new symphony orchestra, in Glendale of all places, we raised an eyebrow and got to thinking, “What chance does a new symphonic orchestra have against the LA Philharmonic with its new dynamic conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, who is currently the darling of the high-brow set, or how they possibly hope to square face to face with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under the guidance of the charismatic and uber talented Jeffrey Kahane?”

Not even the Emmy-award winning Glendale Symphony, which was one of the oldest, continuously operating arts organizations in Southern California could withstand the disastrous economic avalanche, so what makes this new group think it has any chance of making it? We decided to find out by attending its inaugural concert in, of all places, a church!

That made the other eye brow go up! The LA Phil has Disney Hall, the LA Chamber has the Alex and Royce Hall. What do this guys have – a church? Whoever heard of a symphony orchestra playing in a church? OK maybe some people have, but come on now, how can one possibly be serious about having a huge orchestra in a church?

Conductor Mikael Avetisyan

Well, that was our first mistake. First of all, it’s not a huge orchestra. We counted 19 musicians plus the director and there are no brass instruments or woodwinds. It’s all strings (except for the timpani). All right, so strings mean that the music will be a little weak in volume, limited in repertoire and possibly a little squeaky now and then, depending on the musical abilities of the players. We figured it would sound something like the college orchestra where we spend a few years fiddling around in the 2nd violin section.

That was our second mistake!

The repertoire starts out with music from the year circa 1720 when J.S. Bach is said to have written the Prelude for Partita for Violin Number 3 in E Major. The first thing you notice is how tight the violin section is. The performance is pristine and crisp, with sparkling solos by Concertmistress Limor Toren-Immermann, and that made us start to believe that maybe these guys had something going for them.

Then the orchestra jumps forward 290 years for an impeccable rendition of Karl Jenkins’ 1993 Concerto Grosso Palladio, which by no small coincidence was written for string orchestra. Again, the execution was flawless. The piece opens with sharp jagged staccato strokes, then calls for powerful crescendos, while the second movement demands controlled diminuendos. The orchestra delivered on all counts as the music soared around the huge church interior wrapping itself around every wall and aisle as if it were the most delicately engineered acoustic chamber. Who knew it could sound this good in a church?

The knockout piece was soon to follow. It was the world premiere of the Andante Dolente & Schertzo for Two Cellos and String Orchestra by Andrey Rubtsov. If you want contemporary, this is it!   Born in 1982, Rubstov’s innovative music has been performed in Russia, China, Spain, Morocco, England, Venezuela, USA and many other world capitals. Ruslan Biryukov, word class cellist and founder of the Glendale Philharmonic, and Maksim Velichkin, principal Cellist perform the piece, which according to Biryukov was updated as recently as two weeks ago.

We said they performed the piece – that is not entirely correct. They seem to have devoured this piece – digested every note, every rest, every sharp and flat and then exploded it out through their fingers into their instruments. This piece is not music – it’s a microcosm of life. There were conversations between the two cellos, where Ruslan would play a theme and Maksim would respond – where a note would drift from Maksim’s cello, later to be picked up by Ruslan. Some notes cry – others sigh. Some measures whimper and some scream. Then there are flourishes that celebrate life and rants that seem to curse it and as the finale nears, you can feel the heartbeats of the music – you can hear the blood rush, you can sense the explosion and when the final note bursts you know you have been taken to another dimension that can only be found within the lines of the musical staff. To say the performance was incredible would not do it justice.

How, one asks, can they follow this after intermission? There’s no way they can do it!

You guessed it. That was our third mistake.

The answer came in a soft, beautiful rendition by soprano Marine Abrahamyan-Abdasho singing the Aria by Arno Babadjanian. The subdued strings provided a wonderful underpinning to the soaring voice, which undulated much like a ribbon caught in a breeze, sometimes rising, sometimes dipping but always shimmering and warm. The piece is reminiscent of Villalobos’ Bachianas Brazilerias Number 5, which also has a soprano singing the theme. If there is one complaint here it is only that the piece was far too short and we would have liked to hear more from Ms. Abrahamyan-Abdasho. But there’ll be other concerts and hopefully she will be a part of them.

The finale, also a contemporary piece by Edward Mirzoyan, was a fitting climax to an evening of superb music. This Symphony for String Orchestra and Timpani maximizes the power of the lower registers in the cello and bass and the timpani at times becomes a solo instrument, pounding its theme and driving the music with sometimes frenetic pace. The Adagio is the most poignant of the movements, but the fourth movement, the Allegro vivo lives up to the “allegro” with bright, fast, sometimes saw like strokes from the violins. It was an excellent choice for closing an evening that was full of surprises and great musical moments.

But evenings like these don’t happen by themselves. The musicians are the key to the success and this group, though few in number, is great in talent, ability and heart. We were especially impressed by Laura Pearson, the young lady who is the principal viola. Some people live to play music, but in her case we think the music plays her. Though she had just a few instances of solo or duet parts with the first violin, every measure she played was echoed by her face. Her bright eyes and body movements gave her away – you could tell that the notes did not come from the finger board - they came from somewhere deep inside and she shares them shamelessly with the world. There’s a name for people like her. They are called – “Musicians”.

So that brings us to the person who is the guiding force of the music. Maestro Mikael Avetisyan, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor is also among those who has music flowing in his veins. His taut direction and guidance has shaped together an ensemble that can stand side by side with the best. One can only imagine what rehearsals were like under this man. It’s evident that he is an exacting task master and also a gentle mentor, bringing out the best that every musician has to offer. Maestro Avetisyan’s impressive credentials and his evident empathy for this project make him the perfect choice to lead the orchestra in the future.

This project could not have taken place without the efforts of Ruslan Biryukov, Master cellist and now apparently an impresario. Biryukov engineered the existence of this orchestra, seeking sponsorships, donations, supporters and contributors including the support of Reverend Charles L. Updike, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glendale and home (for now) of this grand experiment called the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra.

After all this, we can only close with a comment heard at the end of the concert as people exited. One woman told her companion – “That was absolutely glorious!”

Not much can be added to that comment, other than to say we completely agree!

There will be another concert on February 6, 2010 at the First Baptist Church, located at 509 North Louise Street in Glendale. Tickets can be purchased by calling (323)663-3601 or on-line at  www.glendalephilharmonic.com  or at  www.celloart.com .

         Musicians on GPO’s roster include:  Violin I:  Limor Toren (of Irvine) Concertmistress, Armen Mangasaryan (of Glendale) and Edgar Sandoval (of West Hollywood); Violin II:  Haovhannes Meghrikyan (of Granada Hills), Principal II Violinist, Marisa McLeod (of Orange County), Ruzanna Sargsyan (of Hollywood) and Katerina Kolesnik (of Los Angeles); Viola:  Andrew Dunkles (of Long Beach) Principal Violist, Kate Vincent (of Los Angeles) and Laura Pearson (of Los Angeles); Cello:  Maksim Velichkin (of Silverlake) Principal Cellist, August Lee (of Beverly Hills) and Patricia Ryan (of San Diego); and Timpani:  Arthur Yeghikyan (of Glendale).