Lengthy-awaited Discoveries and Revivals reprise consists of stirring symphony linked to movies Alien, E.T., Boss Child

Geoffrey Gallegos conducts the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra in Orinda on May 21st
On May 21st, conductor and music director Geoffrey Gallegos and the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra will repeat a rousing concert after being postponed to the end of February due to a certain known virus. The orchestra does not want to withhold this enchanting and enriching musical experience from the concertgoers and offers an encore that is worth the twelve-week wait.
The first discovery on the program is a spirited piece entitled ‘Jubilee Overture’ by accomplished Antioch-based composer Anthony Doherty. Doherty’s many compositions have been performed around the world, including two notable commissions from Bay Area orchestras.
Also on the program is Max Bruch’s opulently romantic and carefree Concerto for clarinet, viola and orchestra. This rarely performed composition will be a rediscovery for some listeners and a revival for others.
The concert concludes with Howard Hanson’s lyrical and uplifting Symphony No. 2, also called “Romantic”. Since its premiere in 1930, this work has been performed many times in traditional orchestral settings and then rediscovered, revived and reconfigured as part of the soundtracks for the films Alien, ET the Extra-Terrestrial and Boss Baby.
Sunday, May 21, 4:00 p.m., St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 66 St. Stephen’s Drive, Orinda
Tickets: ContraCostaChamberOrchestra.org or at the door (adults, $20; seniors, $15; students, $7)
Source: CC Chamber Orchestra
About the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra
The Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra consists of volunteer musicians ranging in age from teenagers to octogenarians. Among them are a scientist, lawyer, X-ray technician, engineer, plumber, accountant, physicist and a graphic designer, as well as sales representatives, students, housewives, teachers and artists.
The Orchestra’s mission is to provide multi-generational amateur musicians with opportunities for lifelong learning, collaboration and fun, while providing high quality, affordable entertainment and enrichment to their communities.
The orchestra was formed in the late 1970s and has established a strong presence in the county. The group performs both well-known and unusual musical works, often with a professional soloist. In addition to performances at the historic El Campanil Theater in Antioch, the orchestra performs at the magnificently converted St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Orinda and at special events for residents in Rossmoor. The group also performs annually at a sing-along to Handel’s Messiah at various locations around the county.
The organization is a 501(3)c non-profit organization and relies entirely financially on ticket sales, grants and contributions from players and viewers. To donate, go to www.ContraCostaChamberOrchestra.org/support.
About Geoffrey Gallegos
A native of San Francisco, Geoffrey Gallegos is a sixth-generation Californian. He has been a fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area music community for over 30 years. From 1985 to 1990, Maestro Gallegos was Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Chamber Players Orchestra. In 1991 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, a position he held until 1993. From 2000 to 2006 he resumed his collaboration with the SFCO as Principal Guest Conductor. In 2003 he was hired as Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra (N.CA), a position he held until 2008. Also in 2003, Maestro Gallegos made his debut at the Golden Gate Opera in San Francisco, conducting I Pagliacci and was subsequently invited to become Music Director and Principal Conductor. During this tenure he conducted most of the GGO productions including Gianni Schicchi, The Telephone, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Suor Angelica, Hansel and Gretel and the world premiere production of Lincoln & Booth. In 2004, after an extensive search, Maestro Gallegos was invited to become music director and conductor of the Kensington (CA) Symphony Orchestra, only the third in the orchestra’s 44-year history, a position he currently holds. In 2015, after a year-long search, Maestro Gallegos was hired to become the music director and conductor of West County Winds, a symphonic wind and percussion ensemble based at Contra Costa Community College and serving West Contra Costa County. He has been invited to guest conduct the opening of the 49th season of the Diablo Symphony Orchestra (CA) and has also guest conducted numerous ensembles throughout the Bay Area, the United States and Europe.
Maestro Gallegos is heavily involved in music education. In 2001, he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Golden Gate Philharmonic, a San Francisco metropolitan youth orchestra that offers an integrated program of orchestral and chamber music performances and music theory. More recently he has assumed the new titles of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor and Acting Executive Director of the GGP. He also participated in the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA) Artist-in-Residence program from 2001-2010, where he served as guest conductor of the orchestra and wind ensembles and taught music theory and sight singing. In the 2000-01 academic year, Maestro Gallegos was appointed Conductor of the San Francisco State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. In the summer of 2002 he was invited to the Cazadero Music Camp as guest conductor of the orchestra and engaged again for the 2004 summer session. From 2007 to 2010, Maestro Gallegos served as Instrumental Music Coordinator and Liaison at Nueva School, Hillsborough, where his responsibilities included directing the renowned Menuhin/Dowling Instrumental Music Program and organizing and directing the Menuhin/Dowling Young Musician Competition. Maestro Gallegos has been a judge at numerous youth competitions, master classes and workshops throughout the Bay Area and has been invited to serve as a jury member for the annual 2014 Parade of Orchestras Festival in Honolulu.
Maestro Gallegos studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory School and San Francisco State University and received his Bachelor of Music degree with honors in instrumental pedagogy and conducting. Advanced studies in orchestral and operatic conducting continued at the University of Iowa School of Music, where he received a Master of Arts degree with honors and served as conductor of the University Chamber Orchestra. He has received four scholarships to the prestigious Conductors Institutes at West Virginia University and the University of South Carolina, selected from a large international pool of applicants. In 1991, Maestro Gallegos was nominated for the Annual Conductor’s Guild Thelma A. Robinson Award. He has served on the board of directors of the Community Music Center in San Francisco since 2005, where he began taking trumpet lessons at the age of nine. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife Julie.