Santa Cruz Symphony under the direction of Maestro Daniel Stewart combines a world premiere from a teenage composer with two beloved works from the Romantic repertoire on November 14/15. The evening opens with Overture, a newly commissioned piece by Daniel Strebulaev, then features the Symphony’s newly appointed Concertmaster, In Sun Jang, as the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. The concert closes with Mendelssohn’s sun-drenched Italian Symphony.
Daniel Strebulaev: Overture
The Symphony has long championed emerging musicians, and this year it has commissioned a new work from Daniel Strebulaev, born in 2008. At 18, the pianist and composer is a Merit Scholar at the Royal College of Music in London, studying piano and composition. He previously attended the Pre-College program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Strebulaev has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras, including at Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. His compositions have appeared in the ballet Thumbelina and the animated short The Flying Sailor, and the San Francisco Civic Orchestra performed his Sinfonietta in 2025. He has also raised more than $165,000 for medical and arts initiatives.
Strebulaev describes the Santa Cruz Overture as a joyous piece reflecting his optimism as a native Californian. It opens with a whimsical clarinet theme that travels through the orchestra, drawing on the worlds of magic, romanticism, and adventure before building to a jubilant climax. His influences include Brahms, Copland, Korngold, and John Williams. This is his first professional commission, and he has dedicated it to Music Director and Conductor Daniel Stewart.
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky wrote his Violin Concerto in Switzerland, on a holiday funded by his patron, Nadezhda von Meck, who felt he should recover abroad after his failed 1877 marriage and emotional crisis. Traveling with violinist Joseph Kotek, he read through violin repertoire, including Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, which inspired him to write his own concerto. He completed it remarkably quickly.
The reception was rough. Von Meck expressed displeasure, and violinist Leopold Auer first refused to play the work, calling it unsuitable for the instrument. Critic Eduard Hanslick delivered a scathing review, and Tchaikovsky reportedly carried it in his pocket for months.
The concerto’s fortunes turned on December 4, 1881, when Adolf Brodsky premiered it in Vienna. Brodsky saw its potential and championed it despite its technical demands. Today it is one of the great showpieces of the violin repertoire, a work rooted in Russian tradition yet fresh and forward-looking. As Tchaikovsky himself said, he invented “the musical idea and its instrumentation simultaneously.”
Expect a brilliant performance from Symphony Concertmaster In Sun Jang, who is also a first violinist with San Francisco Symphony and former concertmaster of the New World Symphony. A top prize winner at the International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition, she has soloed with orchestras around the world. At Isaac Stern’s invitation, she performed at Carnegie Hall, and she has collaborated with leading artists including Menahem Pressler and the Orion String Quartet.
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
Felix Mendelssohn, born in 1809 into a musical family, is remembered for music of youthful energy, elegance, and airy texture. His sister Fanny was also a gifted pianist and composer, though she was denied the professional opportunities he enjoyed.
The “Italian” Symphony grew from a ten-month journey that began in October 1830, taking him to Rome, Bologna, Florence, Naples, and Pompeii. He recorded the trip in drawings, watercolors, and music, and the symphony can be heard as a portrait of Italy’s sunshine, religious ceremonies, art, architecture, and countryside.
The first movement bursts open with a jubilant string melody, evoking a walk beneath a clear Mediterranean sky. The second movement suggests the religious processions Mendelssohn witnessed in Rome, including Holy Week festivities, and is followed by a minuet-like movement reflecting his admiration for Italian architecture. The finale is built on the raucous Neapolitan saltarello, a dance that leaves listeners exhilarated, as if returning from an unforgettable journey.
Whether you come for the world premiere, to hear Concertmaster In Sun Jang take on one of the violin’s great showpieces, or simply to bask in a little musical sunshine, Santa Cruz Symphony’s November 14/15 concert promises an evening of discovery, resilience, and joy.
Concert Sponsors: Bob Edmund; Lani LeBlanc; Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Lieberman and Mr. & Mrs. Eric Schweitzer in memory of Norman Albright; Phil & Linda Segal
Concert Co-Sponsors: Allen & Shirley Ginzburg; Lester & Martha Miller
Artist Sponsor: Dennis St. Peter & Alice Kollmann
