Music Director Jayce Ogren returns for Eternal with the Monterey Symphony in two upcoming concerts on Saturday, March 18, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 3:00 p.m., at Sunset Center (San Carlos & 9th Ave). Ogren leads both concerts featuring works by Valerie Coleman, Peter Lieberson, and Brahms.

“Peter Lieberson’s Songs of Love and Sorrow is the centerpiece of our March program, Eternal,” says Jayce. “Written as a memorial to his wife—the great mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson—the music is lush and romantic and will feature the Metropolitan Opera star baritone, Joshua Hopkins.”

“The program begins with Valerie Coleman’s moving yet joyful tribute to pandemic first responders Seven O’Clock Shout, and concludes with Brahms’ autumnal masterpiece, the Symphony No. 4 in E minor,” says Ogren.

On Saturday, March 18, the Symphony brings back the popular Women’s Night Out pre-concert party at Sunset Center in the downstairs Studio 105 space for the 5th time. This year’s party-themed Bohemian Rhapsody is held from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. and features music by Orchid Saloon, a roaming fashion show by Johnny Was, and signature cocktails from Pour Girl bartenders along with more surprises. Tickets are $40 and include both the pre-concert party and the Symphony concert that immediately follows. Discount code: BOHO (discount code only applies for Tier 2 and 3 seats). Tickets and information: https://www.montereysymphony.org/event_5th-annual-womens-night-out-107.htm

Tickets and information: https://www.montereysymphony.org/event_eternal-99.htm or by calling the Symphony box office at (831) 646-8511. Tickets range from $44 for tier 3 seats, $65 for tier 2 seats, and $85 for tier 1 seats. Students, teachers, and active-duty military discounts are $10 with I.D.

About Jayce Ogren: Jayce Ogren has established himself as one of the most innovative and versatile conductors of his generation. From symphonic concerts to community service programs to operatic premieres, he is a leader in breaking down barriers between audiences and great music.

Mr. Ogren began his career as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, an appointment he held from 2006-2009. In the years since, he has conducted many of the world’s most prominent orchestras, including the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic,

San Francisco Symphony, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Among the major projects Mr. Ogren has led are the world premieres of David Lang’s symphony for a broken orchestra at Philadelphia’s 23rd Street Armory and Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown at Opera Theatre of St. Louis; the New York premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place at Lincoln Center; and the U.S. and Scandinavian premieres of Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna.

A devoted educator, Mr. Ogren was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, where he conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra, Contemporary Directions Ensemble, and the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with students at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, the Music Academy of the West, Princeton University, and the Verbier Festival.

Jayce Ogren holds degrees from St. Olaf College, New England Conservatory, and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar with Alan Gilbert and Jorma Panula. His wife, Carly Berger Ogren, is an architect, and together they have an adventurous 4-year-old son, Alistair. An avid athlete, he has competed in the Big Sur, Boston, and NYC marathons, the JFK 50 Miler trail run, and the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon.

About Joshua Hopkins: Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins has been described as having “…a glistening, malleable baritone of exceptional beauty, and…the technique to exploit its full range of expressive possibilities from comic bluster to melting beauty” (Opera Today).

Mr. Hopkins’ operatic repertoire includes virtually all the major baritone roles, performed in the leading houses under the baton of some of the world’s most famous conductors. In the 2021-2022 season, Joshua Hopkins returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Orpheus in the New York premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice. He also joined Lyric Opera of Chicago for his role debut as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore and made his house debut at Seattle Opera as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. With the Santa Fe Opera, he reprised his signature role as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Additional highlights of past seasons include Mr. Hopkins’s Metropolitan Opera debut as Ping in Turandot, and as Cecil in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda.

In remembrance of his sister and in collaboration with composer Jake Heggie and author Margaret Atwood, he created Songs for Murdered Sisters which was performed with both Houston Grand Opera and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

His equally distinguished concert repertoire includes Bach’s Magnificat with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and both Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 and Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the New York Philharmonic. He has recorded Bach’s St. John Passion with the Portland Baroque Orchestra and Arion Orchestre Baroque and appeared as a soloist in Messiah with leading orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Hopkins’s first recital disc, Let Beauty Awake, features songs from Barber, Bowles, Glick, and Vaughan Williams on the ATMA Classique label. He has given recitals in Chicago, Montreal, New York, Santa Fe, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Hopkins was the winner of numerous international prizes including the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Julián Gayarre International Singing Competition, the George London Foundation and Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation awards, and the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award from the Canada Council for the Arts.

About the Monterey Symphony:
The mission of the Monterey Symphony is to entertain and engage our community through musical performance and education.

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