PSO Spring Concert 5/4/14

Flamenco Guitarist Marija Temo to Perform with the Parma Symphony Orchestra 5/4/14

The Parma Symphony Orchestra will present a Spring concert on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at 3:00 PM at Valley Forge High School Auditorium located at 9999 Independence Boulevard in Parma Heights. Music Director Dr. Randolph P. Laycock will present Flamenco Guitarist Marija Temo Performing “Tango Fantasy” conducted by the Composer: Dr Loris Chobanian.  Also: World Premier “Emmanuel” by Randy Rivera, “Espana” by Emmanuel Chabrier and 2nd Movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 The orchestra, in it’s 46th season consists of 75 members of all walks of life from all over the entire Greater Cleveland area.  They meet weekly for rehearsals and present at least four concerts annually. General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Family passes of $20 are available for families of up to 2 adults and their children. All tickets are available at the door beginning at 2:30 PM. 

The Parma Symphony Orchestra is a self-supporting community orchestra in cooperation with the Parma City Schools.  For more information can be found on Facebook, web-site www.parmasymphony.org or calling Business Manager Joe Germana 440-882-2012.

Marija Temo described as a “triple threat”, is widely recognized as a virtuoso classical/flamenco guitarist, flamenco vocalist, conductor, and former dancer. She has come into her own combining her flamenco and classical abilities.

Symphony highlights include: “Tango Fantasy” and “Concierto del Fuego”, two works for guitar and orchestra, that explore the characteristic qualities of Flamenco, written for Ms. Temo by Loris Chobanian; Lecuona’s “Malaguena”, performed and arranged by Ms. Temo for orchestra, flamenco guitar, voice, and dance; “Multi-Talented Marija”, a Spanish program Ms. Temo devised for Children’s Series, showcasing all her talents, including conducting and elaborate audience participation; Falla’s “El Amor Brujo”, which she has frequently performed as a featured flamenco vocalist and former dancer. Temo has appeared with orchestras such as the Baltimore, Calgary, Florida, Alexandria, Hilton Head, and Ocean City Pops Symphonies. 

Solo Concert highlights include: The First World Guitar Congress, Towson, MD; The Ellnora Guitar Festival, Champaign, IL; the Blossom Music Festival, Cleveland, OH; International Guitar Festivals in Asunción, Paraguay, and Radford, VA; VCU Flamenco Guitar Festival Concert, Richmond, VA; and Classical Guitar Society Series throughout the US and abroad.

Unique Performance highlights include:  Performances with Zac Brown, country singer/guitar player 2010 and 2013; Music for GE Capital/ Taylor Guitar national television commercial in 2010, which received an award for being top commercial in the industry; Flamenco Documentary, entitled “Sobre Las Olas” (history of flamenco arts in the US);  "Man of  La Mancha" with the Annapolis Chorale and Orchestra; an arrangement by Temo of The "National Anthem" presented at the Library of Congress; “Fuego Ibérico”, a flamenco musical set in cabaret style centered around Ms. Temo’s talents of Lecuona’s orchestral music blended with flamenco; and feature presentations showcasing Ms. Temo’s talents on PBS television specials  in Ohio and Maryland.

Ms. Temo was featured in Classical Guitar Magazine’s April 2012 issue.  She plays a “Marija Temo” Model flamenco/classical hybrid TM, which she designed with luthier Tom Rodriguez.  She has also received the endorsement of D’Addario Strings. Ms. Temo has received several awards, performed for many dignitaries, and continues to offer numerous Flamenco/Classical Guitar and Flamenco Singing Workshops throughout the US and abroad, as well as Private Instruction and on Skype.  Ms. Temo received her Masters degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, studying under Manuel Barrueco, and her Bachelors degree from the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music, studying under Loris Chobanian.  Ms. Temo’s mentors in flamenco are Teo Morca and Manolo Leiva.  Visit www.marijatemo.com for more information.

Professor Emeritus of Composition and Guitar as well as Composer-in-Residence at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music, Loris Ohannes Chobanian was born to Armenian parents in the Middle East. He was introduced to serious music at an early age. His father Ohannes Chobanian, an oil engineer and an amateur musician, was a versatile performer on the piano, the flute and the violin. He composed an operetta “O, Loris!” which the 5 year old Loris sang in the city of Kirkuk. The elder Chobanian conducted the orchestra. He often organized plays and concerts for the Armenian communities in Mosul and Kirkuk.

Winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize he has taught at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Akron. An expert conductor, he often conducts his own compositions as guest composer with university, high school and professional orchestras. In 2011, his compositions were performed at the Zwolle Festival in Holland and also in Italy. On January 27, 2012, the BW Symphonic Wind Ensemble presented the world premiere of his In Search of Global Harmony in seven movements. The composition represents the music of seven countries - China, India, Russia, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Ireland and Spain. In November 2013 he was guest composer at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA, where several of his compositions were performed.

Recent compositions include Der Voghormia (Lord Have Mercy) for Chorus and Piano for the Armenian Church in Baghdad, Iraq, The Traveler with Armenian text, for Voice and Piano, Saturday Morning for String Orchestra, Aesop’s Fables for String Orchestra and Narrator, Just Violins for Six Violins, Rhapsodic Variations for Cello and Piano. Three Spanish Dances for Three Guitars,  Armenian Lullaby for String Orchestra, Variations on an Israeli Theme for Two Guitars, Robin With a Yellow Beak for Piano,  and Chopsticks for Flute, Trumpet and Piano.