ARC Orchestra Features “Carmen” This Fall
September 10, 2020
The ARC Orchestra invites the community to an informative and entertaining virtual spotlight on Bizet's timeless opera “Carmen” this fall.
Led by Director and ARC Music professor Dr. Steven Thompson, the Orchestra is offering a combination of online rehearsals with lectures from experts across the curriculum - including lawyers, professors, and opera singers in virtual lecture halls.
“If you love opera and want to take a deeper dive into one of the most enduring classics of all time, you need to check out the ARC Orchestra’s ‘Carmen’ Project,” said Thompson. “I invite all opera fans - and music lovers in general - to join us this fall.”
Here is the schedule for the “Carmen” project. All events are on Wednesdays, 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom and on the college’s YouTube channel:
September 2
Join Thompson for an overview of the opera, its connections to the present, its history, and its musical significance.
September 16
How to Kill Your Lover And Maybe Get Away With It – David Brooks, author and former public defender in El Dorado and Placer counties
September 30
The Music of Spain and Its Influence Across the Musical World – Anna Maria Mendieta, acclaimed harpist for Tango Del Cielo
October 7
CSI Seville: Tracing The Authentic Roots of Prosper Merimee's Novella, “Carmen” – Laura Pritchard, San Francisco Opera/Harvard University
October 14
Carmen: Foremost Femme Fatale – Robin Fisher, Professor of Music, Sacramento State University
October 21
Why the Bullfighter Always Gets the Girl: The Archetypes of Don Jose and Escamillo – Paul Epstein, MA in Psychology and Drama Therapy
November 4
A Conversation with Music Historian Robert Greenberg, Former Professor of Music with the San Francisco Conservatory and lecturer with the Great Courses
November 18
Mindfulness in Music – Alexander Kahn, Professor of Music, Sonoma State University
Thompson lectures at ARC where he also directs the ARC Orchestra, a unique, like-no-other, multi-generational, community college orchestra. Thompson has brought Salsa and Hip-hop and Beethoven and more to audiences across California. He has written textbooks and composed music for installations in Beijing, China, and Cologne, Germany. Thompson is also music director for the Napa Regional Dance company and a guest conductor with Symphony Napa Valley.