What better way to spend an evening than picnicking and drinking your favorite beverage beside the lake while listening to live classical music? Lake Tahoe Music Festival is happening at various locations around the North Shore from Aug. 18 to 21.
Now in his 14th year as the festival’s Artistic Director, freelance Oregonian conductor Timm Rolek is anticipating a classic program showcasing world-renowned soloists and new works by local choreographers and composers.
“Our mission is keeping musical education
alive in the Truckee Tahoe Basin.”
– Timm Rolek
Nathan Hughes, Julliard professor and principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera, performs Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C, K. 314 at West Shore cafe in Homewood on Aug. 18.
“Nathan in one of maybe five or six people in the world at what he does,” says Rolek. “He is the principal oboist at one of the largest musical organizations on the planet. Anytime we can bring that talent and influence to the orchestra, we jump at the chance.”
The festival continues on Friday at the Truckee Amphitheater with Icelandic international cellist Saeunn Thorsteindottir’s rendition of Haydn’s “Cello Concerto in D.” An international artist, Thorsteindottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, and she moved to the United States at a young age. She has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto and Iceland Symphonies, to name a few.
“What I like about her work is she is very interested in new music,” says Rolek. “What sold me on her was her performance of a cello solo by Benjamin Britten.”
In addition to importing top talent, the festival is dedicated to creating an atmosphere of mutual learning, respect and collaboration within the orchestra.
“One of the things that’s great is both Nathan and Saeunn are playing pieces with the orchestra they have played before,” says Rolek. “I give them the opportunity to lead the orchestra themselves. They will play and lead the orchestra in rehearsal at the same time. That is an opportunity they are rarely given in their professional lives.”
This freedom allows the soloists to communicate their own vision of a given piece to an orchestra comprised of 20 chamber musicians recently graduated from conservatories around the country.
“Our mission is keeping musical education alive in the Truckee Tahoe Basin,” explains Rolek. “What we do in the summer is a logical extension of that. These are young people about to finish work in conservatories and we give them a chance to play with the people whose jobs they’d like to have someday. They’re young hot shots.”
Although Rolek doesn’t have a favorite piece in this summer’s repertoire, he did admit there was one night in particular he was looking forward to.
“It’s like asking which of your children do you like better or worse than the others,” he jokes. “But the show near and dear to my heart is at Gatekeeper’s (Museum in Tahoe City).”
That Saturday night performance will feature Lennox Berkeley’s “Windsor Variations,” Antonin Dvorak’s “Silent Woods” as played by Thorsteindottir, Vanhal’s “Concerto for Two Bassoons” and Haydn’s “Symphony 87” accompanied by the original choreography of Christin Hanna and the Lake Tahoe Dance Collective. Additionally, it will include the premiere of a work by Truckee resident David Nelson called “Sketch No. 1 for Strings.”
“It was written just for string orchestra, and reminds me of other classical works by Dukas, Lizst and Brahams,” explains Rolek. “I’d describe it as a fun dance with a dark sense of humor.”
For Rolek, a commitment to integrating world-class arts into the local Tahoe and Truckee community is what the festival is all about.
“Any chance you can add more people to the pot its better, it brings different perspectives to what you do,” he says. “You come, you bring your picnic, your bottle of wine, and the ticket is cheap. It’s a low-impact introduction to this artwork.”
For more information or for tickets, visit tahoemusic.org.
Aug. 18 | 6 p.m.
$25 | Free 12 & younger
West Shore cafe | Homewood
Aug. 19 | 6 p.m.
Sally Gebhardt Amphitheater | Truckee
$25 | Free 12 & younger
Aug. 20 | 6 p.m.
$35 | Free 12 & younger
Gatekeeper’s Museum | Tahoe City
Aug. 21 | 5 p.m.
$65 includes dinner
PJs at The Golf Club Grays Crossing | Truckee
