The Afternoon the Music Came Back

For almost two years, the stage at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts sat quiet on Sunday afternoons. Meanwhile, the musicians practiced alone in spare bedrooms and garages. Since 1963, the orchestra had played free concerts for its neighbors. Suddenly, it had no one to play for. Then, on February 20, 2022, at 3 p.m., that finally changed. The La Mirada Symphony walked back onto its home stage for its first concert since 2020. Above all, the program it chose showed what the orchestra had been thinking about while it waited.

A Premiere Worth the Wait

The centerpiece of the afternoon was the West Coast premiere of Our Rights and Nothing Less by Maria Newman. Newman wrote the work to honor the 200th birthday of Susan B. Anthony. However, Anthony’s bicentennial fell in February 2020, only weeks before theaters across the country went dark. As a result, the La Mirada performance carried an unplanned symmetry. In other words, a piece about persistence arrived on a stage that had spent two years practicing it.

Newman also came to the project with a remarkable musical pedigree. She is a composer and violist, and also the youngest child of Hollywood film composer Alfred Newman. In fact, her father wrote the 20th Century Fox fanfare. That means most moviegoers have heard the family’s music before a film even starts. Still, Newman built an impressive career of her own. For example, her work earned commendations from the United States Congress and the Annenberg Foundation. The symphony, therefore, felt honored to give the piece its first West Coast hearing.

A piece about persistence arrived on a stage that had spent two years practicing it.

The Rest of the Program

1. Maria Newman: Our Rights and Nothing Less (West Coast Premiere)
2. George Walker: Lyric for Strings
3. Johann Strauss Jr.: Overture to Die Fledermaus
4. Reinhold Glière: Red Poppy Suite, featuring the “Russian Sailor’s Dance”

Around the premiere, Music Director Alan Mautner built the rest of the afternoon on contrast. At its quietest, the program turned to Lyric for Strings by George Walker. Walker became the first African American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. His Lyric is also one of the most performed orchestral works by an American composer. After two years of distance and loss, its slow, singing lines carried real weight. Of course, the audience understood why without needing a program note.

From there, the mood lifted considerably. Johann Strauss Jr., known as “The Waltz King,” supplied the Overture to Die Fledermaus. The operetta centers on a masquerade ball and a great deal of champagne. Since everyone in the hall already wore a mask, the choice felt either thoughtful or funny, and possibly both. Finally, the concert closed with the Red Poppy Suite by Reinhold Glière. Its last movement, the “Russian Sailor’s Dance,” exists to send an audience home on its feet.

Getting Through the Door

Naturally, returning to the theater in early 2022 took some paperwork. Every guest, adult and child alike, needed a photo ID. In addition, each person showed proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. PCR results had to come from within 48 hours of the performance. Antigen tests, however, had to fall within 24 hours. Consequently, a few concertgoers planned their Saturday around a nasal swab. Masks also stayed on indoors for the entire visit, regardless of vaccination status. The only allowance covered eating and drinking in designated areas. Even so, the audience showed up, which may be the most convincing review a community orchestra can receive.

The Orchestra Behind the Moment

The La Mirada Symphony began in 1963 with a clear mission. It would give residents free concerts and give local musicians a place to share their talents. Over the decades, that mission grew to include Youth Enrichment Programs. Those programs brought classroom performances and daytime full-orchestra concerts to students in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District.

Meanwhile, Alan Mautner, the orchestra’s former principal cellist, became Music Director in 2014. His background in community and youth orchestras suited an ensemble built on local talent. By 2022, he had already led the symphony through eight seasons. The orchestra was also nearing a milestone of its own. In fact, its 60th anniversary sat only a season away.

A Season Back in Full Swing

The February concert opened a season that quickly made up for lost time. Next came a second free concert on May 22, featuring Bach, Bernstein, Grieg and Shostakovich. Between those programs, the orchestra also appeared in two ticketed performances at the theater. The first was Symphonic Sinatra on April 8. Later, the musicians returned on May 27 for The Symphony Tribute to the Music of John Denver. After two years of silence, the calendar suddenly looked crowded. Not surprisingly, nobody in the orchestra complained.

Looking Back

Today, it is easy to forget how uncertain that February felt. At the time, nobody knew whether audiences would come back. Nobody knew, either, whether the rules would change again by spring. The answer arrived at 3 p.m. on a Sunday, when the house lights finally went down. Since then, everything the La Mirada Symphony has played traces back to that afternoon.

Adapted from the original 2022 concert announcement by L. C. Harnsberger.