Artist Director James Rawie has set a bold mission for TOCCATA to see that classical masterpieces are kept alive and performed locally, and he has been succeeding at that mission since retiring to Tahoe in 2005.
“Messiah” | Dec. 23 | Olympic Village Lodge | Olympic Valley
BRRRoque Masters | Jan. 7-14
Elizabeth Pitcairn | Feb. 17-27
Rawie retired after living in Puerto Rico for 28 years where he founded the Toccata Symphonic Chorus of Puerto Rico. After moving to Tahoe he founded the TOCCATA Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. TOCCATA stands for The Orchestra and Community Choral Artists of the Tahoe Area.
“We found musicians and started humbly with a string group and a small chorus.”
–James Rawie
“We found musicians and started humbly with a string group and a small chorus,” Rawie explains.
“Our niche is to take the same quality of concerts (like the Reno Philharmonic) to places where people can drive to. We started in Incline Village, then South Lake Tahoe and Truckee,” says Rawie. The orchestra grew and the performances did, as well. Outgrowing the venues in Truckee, the orchestra performs in churches and venues in Reno, Carson City, Gardnerville and Olympic Valley.
“Churches have the best acoustics and promote the concerts within their own congregations,” he adds. Each year the orchestra performs Handel’s, “Messiah.” The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742. The TOCCATA production, in its 12th year, is a celebration of the holidays and includes favorite selections from “Messiah” Parts One and Three. “Messiah is one of our most popular concerts,” says Rawie.
“Our grand finale is at Squaw Valley on Dec 23rd. There will be a pre-concert reception. And there will be a living Christmas tree in which some of the members of the chorus migrate into the tree and sing from inside it. The Squaw Valley Lodge is a great venue for us. It’s large and has good acoustics. We’d like (Squaw) to eventually be our home,” says Rawie. The “Messiah” production will also include a holiday sing-along in the second half of the performance.
The chorus is comprised of 40 to 70 singers and 30 to 40 musicians in the orchestra depending on the production. At times there can be an upwards of 100 performers. The TOCCATA Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform regularly throughout the year.
Joining the TOCCATA Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for this production are Joy Strotz, Maria Arrigotti, Anne Davidson and Becky Earl sopranos; Jenna Sims, mezzo soprano, Brad Perry and Robert Bousquet, tenors, and Stuart Duke, Emzy Burroughs and Chris Nelson, baritones. The TOCCATA Chamber Orchestra features Brian Fox and Jeff Lindhorst as concertmasters; David Brock, Katie Lauder and Nick Haines as continuo; and William Cates on Baroque trumpet. David Brock is one of the founding members and plays harpsichord and keyboards in the orchestra. He’ll be performing an organ concerto for “Messiah,” as well as for the upcoming Baroque Masters.
Baroque to Mozart
TOCCATA’s winter performances feature Baroque and Mozart with guest artist Elizabeth Pitcairn.
TOCCATA Tahoe presents BRRRoque Masters from Jan. 7 to 14 and features performances from Bach, Vivaldi, Charpentier and Handel. The Baroque concerts will be offered throughout the Tahoe-Reno region.
Baroque is a musical period that followed the Renaissance from 1600 to 1750. Baroque often delivers a sense of drama, movement and tension during the performances. The word baroque originated from the Portuguese word barroco meaning misshapen pearl.
Elizabeth Pitcairn will join TOCCATA in concert to showcase Mozart from Feb. 17 to 27.
The classics are important part of musical history and TOCCATA encourages young people to attend the shows for free. Not only are these performances educational and informative they will broaden the musical palates of the young.
For more information and tickets, visit toccatatahoe.org. For tickets for the Dec. 23 show, visit squawalpine.com.
