New conductor Linda DeRungs leads LWSO in June concert

LWSO IN CONCERT

Theatrical music and a blockbuster piano concerto will highlight the Leisure World Orchestra’s first performance under the baton of conductor Linda DeRungs on June 7.

The 59-year-old Leisure World orchestra will present an ambitious collection of works from musical theater, opera and operettas, as well as the formidable Grieg “Piano Concerto” featuring Leisure World’s own world-class pianist, Yuri Lotakov.

Rehearsals of challenging music have shown the musicians’ development, DeRungs said. “I knew this spring’s program was challenging, and I’m delighted how well they’ve risen to the task.”

DeRungs credits the talents and dedication of the group, which primarily comprises community residents who pay a fee to participate in the ensemble. Many orchestra members picked up their instruments after decades-long breaks. “For an educator who spent a lifetime promising high schoolers that the music skills we worked on could be a lifetime joy, it’s very gratifying,” DeRungs said.

One community talent she wasn’t expecting was Ukrainian- born pianist Lotakov. “To have a world-class concert artist as a neighbor in the next mutual is beyond miraculous.”

Lotakov, who performed his first formal concert as a 9-year-old boy 70 years ago, was enjoying a distinguished European performing career until he petitioned Soviet authorities to emigrate. His performance tours were halted and after a difficult two years, he made his way to Los Angeles. He and his wife Luba moved to Leisure World in 2020.

Lotakov and the orchestra will be performing one of music’s landmark pieces, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s only concerto. The legendary Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff considered the work, composed when Grieg was only 24, the “greatest ever written.”

Among the other challenging pieces DeRungs has scheduled are Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus” from “Il trovatore,” and three selections from Bizet’s “Carmen.” San Francisco-born soprano Carol Winston will sing the “Haberera” from “Carmen,” as well as the famous Gilbert and Sullivan aria, “The Sun Whose Rays.” Winston will also present short selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical theater works.

The orchestra will also present crowd-favorite “Bugler’s Holiday” by American composer Leroy Anderson, and a medley of U.S. military marches.

The June 7 concert will be held in Clubhouse 2 at 1 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be offered after the performance.

Orchestra conductor Linda DeRungs and pianist Yuri Lotakov study Grieg's score that Lotakov will perform at the June 7 concert.