For Musica Angelica, this fascinating coincidence provided the inspiration for its upcoming concerts, \u201cOde to Music: Handel, Hendrix, and a Very Special House,\u201d on March 18 and 19. Saturday\u2019s show will be performed at the Beverly O\u2019Neill Theatre in Long Beach, and Sunday\u2019s will take place at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think what we\u2019re addressing is the kind of universal language of music,\u201d said executive director Matthew Faulkner. \u201cThis is about musical connections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musica Angelica has invited a rock quartet to perform for the Hendrix portion for the show. In another kismet connection, its notable guest performer, Maury Baker, who was Janis Joplin\u2019s drummer for many years\u2014and has played timpani in Baroque orchestras\u2014once jammed with Hendrix at the psychedelic club Thee Experience in Los Angeles in the late 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musica Angelica\u2019s associate music director Gonzalo Ruiz has composed a special piece titled, \u201cTune in Big E,\u201d which will incorporate Hendrix\u2019s song \u201cLittle Wing\u201d and other music arranged for rock quartet and orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cImagine if a Baroque orchestra was playing on stage, and Jimi Hendrix and his band climbed into a wormhole and started jamming\u2014what that would sound like,\u201d Faulkner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Long Beach performance, Musica Angelica has invited 85 students from the Long Beach Unified School District\u2019s Migrant Education Program to see the show. The outreach is part of the orchestra\u2019s continued efforts to enrich and develop new generations of classical music listeners to underserved communities that have historically had the least access to those kinds of experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur motto has always been: perfecting history and inspiring the future, because we’re all about the historical performance,\u201d said Faulkner. \u201cBut we also want to inspire the next generation. And we think that access to this kind of art form is really, really important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally a Los Angeles-based chamber group created by in 1993 by Michael Eagan, a lute player, and Mark Chatfield, a Baroque cellist, Musica Angelica would eventually settle in Long Beach in 2015 under the direction of longtime music director Martin Haselb\u00f6ck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musica Angelica quickly partnered with LBUSD\u2019s Harmony Project, an initiative that provides music mentoring and enrichment to inner-city youth. In the last eight years, world-class musicians from the orchestra have visited numerous Long Beach schools, performing small concerts and, at various times, offering hour-long after-school music instruction. The orchestra has also given out ticket vouchers for students and their families to see local concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the morning of Saturday’s performance, associate music director Ruiz and three musicians playing at the Handel and Hendrix concert will visit Garfield Elementary School (2240 Baltic Ave.) to perform and share their unique careers with the students. The event is free, open to the public and begins at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musica Angelica\u2019s 30th season will continue with two more concerts on April 1-2 titled, \u201cBach Festival.\u201d The April 1 concert at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is a concert recital and lecture, which will include a variety of works by Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Attendees will also hear from Haselb\u00f6ck and other musicologists that will dive into the history and impact of the selected Bach pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The April 2 concert, also at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, will include the performance of Bach\u2019s most celebrated composition, \u201cSt. Matthew Passion,\u201d in its entirety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/03\/CVB-Musica-Angelica-Mozart_Opera-Singer-2551-002-1110x740.jpg\")